


Where the Pack Meets the Pride

by Jadecross4ever



Series: The Lannister Wolf [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jaime Lannister Has Issues, Jaime Lannister Lives, Jaime Lannister Needs a Hug, Overprotective Robb Stark, Protective Jaime Lannister, Rickon Stark Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 36,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadecross4ever/pseuds/Jadecross4ever
Summary: Evelyn Stark is Robb Stark's twin sister and is the woman that every man wishes to marry: brave, talented, a swordswoman, kind, sweet and a talent for healing. When Jaime Lannister rides into Winterfell with his twin sister, he is not expected to meet a woman who changes his views on love, loyalty, honor and life.Evelyn must make a life changing choice: refuse the king's offer of a betrothal and let her sister down, or make everyone happy and marry the Kingslayer. What she doesnt realize that it will lead her into a long journey full of life, death, betrayal, love, peace and honor.
Relationships: Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister/Original Character(s), Jaime Lannister/Original Character(s), Jaime Lannister/Original Female Character(s), Jaime Lannister/Other(s)
Series: The Lannister Wolf [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661686
Kudos: 32





	1. Where the Pack Meets the Pride

**Author's Note:**

> HI! Sorry I’m not putting this chapter up till now but over the past week I’ve had a change of heart and so the story plot of the story, as well as the cover and title are different than what they originally were:) So don’t freak out if the title and cover are different but I thought that these were a little more interesting and suited the story better:)  
> I originally was going to have the story follow the storyline of the first season of Game of Thrones and then skip seasons 2-7 and jump to season 8 when I realized how utterly stupid I am, not even thinking about the time between the two seasons! In that case, I will be following the storyline a little more closely and there will be 8 parts to the story: one part for each season:) Please don’t hate me but I actually haven’t watched all of GOT yet!!!!!! I have only watched 1-4 completely and a few parts here and there of 5-6. I’m working on it but don’t be surprised if the dialog is not like it is in the TV series:)  
> Another announcement: I have gone back and have added pictures to the first few chapters I have written so far. I realize that I haven’t been efficient with supplying chapters with illustrations so I will try harder! Just, I’m picky about the illustrations so I want them to be perfect for the chapter so don’t be surprised if some chapters have pictures but others don’t!  
> As far as content go, I am keeping this definitely PG-13 for 99.9% of the time. There will be no cuss words because I personally do not use language and it often times offends me due to personal reasons. There will be mentions of Jaime and Cersei’s incest but nothing too inappropriate. There will be a few chapters between the significant characters which I might rate M but I will let you know at the beginning of the chapter and star the chapters so you are prepared and aware:)  
> Last but not least, I have received some hate in my Edward Cullen fanfiction because one of the readers did not like the idea of Edward not being paired up with Bella (but it was an Edward x oc story…. naturally he wouldn’t be paired up with Bella!), but anyway, do not be afraid to express your opinions for I am open for criticism. It helps me become a better, stronger writer when I know where I go wrong or what people prefer. I might however come back with an answer of either accepting the criticism or justifying it. Honestly, I know the feeling when you think a story will be great but it turns out to have some things you do not agree with. I totally get it! Not everyone’s piece of cake! I put out my own thoughts on fanfiction stories too but I am also a writer so there will be times when I feel the need to defend my choices so just FYI. I don’t hate comments, good or bad, kind or rude so don’t think I’m trying to be mean or hate you by replying to your comments:)

Part 1:

_When the Pack meets the Pride_

Name: Evelyn Juliana Stark

Age: 17

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Amber

Family members: Robb Stark (twin brother), Ned and Catelyn Stark (parents), Sansa and Arya Stark (Sisters), Bran and Rickon Stark (Brothers), Jon Snow (half brother/cousin)

Direwolf: Zinzi - female (pronounced: Sh-ih-n-zz-ee)

Name: Jaime Lannister

Age: 35

Hair color: Blond (duh!) XD

Eye color: in the books they are green but I’m following the series so: blueXD

Family members: Cersei Lannister (twin sister), Tyrion Lannister (brother), Tywin Lannister (father), Tommen and Joffrey Baratheon (nephews/really sons), Myrcella Baratheon (niece/really daughter), Robert Baratheon (brother-in-law)

Horse: Egan, meaning “little fire” ( I was gonna leave this blank but I think Jaime needs a pet… as a stress relieverXD)


	2. Chapter 1

It was one of those mornings when the frost was fresh on the ground and the cold wasn’t just cold but a harsh bitterness. Today was the kind of day where Evelyn Stark preferred to either stay inside reading to Rickon or warm herself up with Robb, Theon and Jon. However, the three boys had gone out with their father and Bran to deal with a deserter, so Evelyn had taken to finding a quiet perch to read.  
Evelyn Stark was not the usual kind of girl who would find a chair or even her bed to read. On the contrary, she was the girl who did not care for quiet, dignified things unless they excited her at the same time. Sansa always said she was cut from the same cloth as Arya, but Evelyn had more control over her energy and wild side. While Arya would out front tackle Theon to the ground if he teased her, Evelyn would take a sneaky, roundabout way and either trip him subtly or later when he wasn’t prepared, she would pounce on him silently. Ned had once said that Arya was the lion and Evelyn was the cheetah. Arya was the brute strength while Evelyn was the swift, accurate and quiet attacker.   
At present, Evelyn was seated on the roof of the stables, all wrapped up and occasionally rubbing her hands together as she read her book. Lucky for her it was enticing enough to distract her from the cold. But it wasn’t enough to distract her from the return of her brothers and father.  
The seventeen-year-old girl closed her book hastily and tucking it into the brown leather back she always carried with her, she slid down the roof and hopped down. Jon and Robb were the first to emerge from the stables and Evelyn noticed right away that both boys were carrying two fluffy bundles.  
“What is that?” the girl inquired.  
Robb’s blue eyes lit up at the sight of his twin sister and he rushed over to her before holding out the small bundle. Evelyn’s amber eyes widened at the sight of the dire wolf pup in her brother’s arms.  
“We found them! They’re mother was dead,” Robb explained, “Father said we could keep them! Even Jon got one!”  
“EVELYN!” Brans little voice cried as he rushed from the stables, his arms full.  
The boy crashed into his older sister and held up one of the bundles in his arms. Evelyn saw right away that it was a pure black dire wolf pup and looked smaller than Robb and Bran’s.  
“It’s a girl,” Bran explained, “I kept that one for you!”  
Evelyn smiled at Bran as she took the pup into her arms. The pup looked up into Evelyn’s golden eyes and began to lick her face gently with a warm tongue.  
“What are you going to name her?” Robb asked, “I’m naming my Greywind.”  
Evelyn smiled and glanced down at the pup in her arms, “Zinzi.”  
Jon chuckled as he fondled the white pup in his arms, “Typical Evelyn. A tough name but also girly and swift.”  
The girl smiled and playfully punched her half-brother’s arm, “Come on! Mother is gonna be angry with you boys if you don’t go in for dinner. Don’t forget, the Lannister’s are coming tomorrow.”  
The three boys nodded and rolled their eyes heavily. None of them were looking forward to the company or to the prospect of having several dinners and a banquet.  
When the boys were gone, Evelyn looked down at the pup in her arms and carefully held her up in front of her. She scanned over the pup, checking for any injuries. She found none other than a cut on the pup’s left ear.  
“We’ll take care of that easily,” Evelyn assured the pup, cuddling her in her arms.  
The girl hurried through the snowy streets of Winterfell clutching Zinzi to her chest. When she finally arrived at the small little empty stable at the edge of town, she pushed the door open with her shoulder and closed it with her foot. The single stable had been abandoned for years because it wasn’t large enough for horses. It had been used for pigs but pigs don’t do well in the North so there was no use for it. Evelyn had gotten Robb and Jon to help her nail boards over the windows so that there were only two windows and they made the stable gate into a French door style.   
There were several old tables and chairs inside as well as a rocking chair. In the large wooden trough that had been cleaned out and gifted a lid were plenty of blankets, bandages and a box containing emergency bandages in bags that Evelyn could take with her quickly.  
The left and back walls of the stall had shelves line with jars full of different plants and substances. Everything was tidy and well-kept and as for the snow flower plant that grew in the small box on the windowsill, that was for decoration and was probably better cared for than any plant.  
However the same couldn’t be said about the ivy plant in the other sill which was constantly used as the area where Evelyn poured concoctions to test if they were fatal… let’s just say that ivy plant had died and had been resurrected a few too many times.  
Evelyn placed the puppy on the counter and carefully located the salve for small cuts and applied some to the cut. Zinzi whimpered but Evelyn stroked her belly while she did it to distract her. When she finished, she blew on the salve till it dried and created a crust over the wound to keep it from bleeding out.  
“There you go,” Evelyn cooked, stroking the puppy under the chin, “All better!”


	3. Chapter 2

“Evelyn!” Sansa cried, “You have to get your hair done!”  
Evelyn looked up from where she was playing with Zinzi on her bed. Sansa had burst into the bedroom, brush in hand after seeing the state her older sister was in. Evelyn’s long black hair was pulled up into a loose bun that rested on the back of her head with a few long wisps of black hair flitting about her pale face.   
“It is done,” Evelyn objected.  
Sansa shook her head, “Nonsense! The king is coming here to Winterfell! You have to look your best!”  
Evelyn chuckled, “Honestly! It’s fine! I’ll let you do something to my hair for the banquet tonight.”  
“Fine,” Sansa sighed, “At least change out of that dress.”  
Evelyn considered the brown everyday dress she was wearing and humphed to herself. At least Sansa wasn’t asking her to change her gender!  
Getting up, the girl decided to change into a deep navy-blue dress that was both simple but not the dress she wore every day. She was just about to sit back down with Zinzi when there came a knock at the door.  
“Eve? You in there?”  
Evelyn skipped to the door and opened it to find her twin and Jon standing there, both grinning. Robb held out a fur cloak to his sister. It was dark navy blue except for the fur which was silver and complimented Evelyn’s blue eyes. The girl took it and wrapped it around her shoulders, noting that Robb was also wearing his.  
“Aren’t you going to join us Jon?” Evelyn asked.  
Jon shook his head, “I doubt mother would want that.”  
Evelyn groaned, “What if I want you there!?”  
Jon chuckled at the girl’s attempt at a pouty face but instead scooped her up in a bear hug, “Then I would love to come but you aren’t lady Stark Eve.”  
“Yet,” Evelyn pointed out, putting emphasis on the word.  
“Right. Yet,” Jon chuckled.  
“Except for one thing sis,” Robb pointed out. “You probably will never be Lady Stark because as a woman, you will get married and inherit your husband’s last name.”  
Evelyn’s eyes expanded which earned chuckles from her two brothers, “NO! Not that!”  
“If you three are done babbling about,” Sansa called from where she was trying to drag Rickon and Bran outside, “We need to go!”  
Once outside, Evelyn positioned herself between Sansa and Robb. Honestly, she felt out of place there considering that she wasn’t nearly as tall as Sansa and Robb and was at least two inches shorter than Sansa, making her feel like she should be next to Bran and Arya.   
However, if she would have thought of that sooner than it would be great but at that moment the king and the whole royal family and their guards came riding through the gates.   
Evelyn considered the rather stout king. She knew that she and Robb had met him as babes years ago but she didn’t remember anything of him. She had to admit, she wasn’t what she expected of a king.   
As the large man dismounted from his horse who looked ready to deflate, the carriage door opened and out stepped Cersei and her two youngest children. Evelyn had already caught sight of Joffrey riding next to his father and had purposely not looked in his direction. He was pretty hard on the eyes not to mention he gave the girl the chills.  
Robb jabbed his sister gently in the side to get her attention and Evelyn turned to see what he was referring to. Sansa was smiling adoringly at Joffrey who was smirking at her. ‘Oh great!’  
However, the girl was brought out of her thoughts when Robb jabbed her again, “Psst.”  
Evelyn looked over at her brother. Now was not the best time to be talking! The king was approaching! As their father and the king greeted each other in a rather peculiar way, Evelyn looked at her brother to see Robb nodding towards someone in the king’s guard.  
The girl followed his gaze and rested upon a man garbed in gold with sunny blond hair and piercing green eyes. Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer. Evelyn had heard about him from stories, rumors and from their father but nothing much. Honestly, as far as personality goes, she knew nothing about him. All she knew was that he was the twin brother to the queen.  
Evelyn didn’t have chance to brood further on her thoughts when suddenly the King approached her and Robb.  
“You must be Robb,” the king greeted her twin, patting him strongly on the shoulder, “Just like your father.”  
The king then stepped to the side and approached Evelyn. He considered the girl a moment before grinning widely at her, “And you must be Evelyn! I remember when you were just a wee thing! So tiny and pink but so full of energy! You hated being away from your brother! Screamed every time! You got the hiccups from crying too!”  
Evelyn felt her cheeks turning beet red at the king bringing up her habits as a babe. Geez this was embarrassing!  
Finally the king moved on from Evelyn and went to greet Sansa. The girl let out a sigh of relief but made sure that no one other than her brother heard it. Robb smirked down at his sister with a devilish grin.  
“First time I’ve heard of it. So, you cry when you’re not with me sis?”  
Evelyn glared at her twin, “I’m warning you Robb Stark. Do not finish that sentence!”  
“And you would get the hiccups cuz you cried so much!?”  
“ARGH!” Evelyn hissed low enough, so the King didn’t hear and stomped on her brother’s foot hard.  
Robb cringed from the pain but smirked teasingly at his sister anyway. Evelyn crossed her arms and looked away from her brother, determined to punish him by ignoring him… however when he gently tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, she turned to look at him.  
“You might want to look at the Kingslayer Eve,” he whispered.  
Glancing away from her brother, Evelyn peered at the blond Lannister through the curtain of her hair and realized that he was already staring at her. There was an amused smile on his face and Evelyn realized with shock that he had seen the exchange between her and Robb!  
Evelyn felt her face flush from embarrassment. Not only did the king bring up her embarrassing childhood memories, but the queen’s brother had overheard her banter with her brother! Could the day get any worse? Oh wait…. It already was because Sansa was practically swooning over Joffrey!  
When it was finally time to disperse, Evelyn noticed that her parents were taking the king and queen to the crypt to pay their respects. However, before Evelyn could resume her position next to her twin, Bran and Rickon had both caught one of her hands and were tugging on them to get her attention.  
“Eve,” Rickon cried in his still young voice, “Can we go play with Shaggydog and Summer in the woods?”  
“Mother doesn’t want them out of their kennels while the royal family is here,” Bran whispered.  
Evelyn smiled down at her two brothers and nodded, “Of course, but you have to take Zinzi with you.”  
“Okay,” Rickon chirped. He adored all the dire wolves, especially Zinzi because the female dog was almost like Evelyn in dog form.  
“But why?” Bran inquired, “Summer and Shaggydog are capable of taking care of themselves.”  
Evelyn chuckled and ruffled her brother’s hair, “It’s not Summer and Shaggydog I’m worried about. It’s you two knuckle heads.”  
Bran laughed as he ruffled his hair back into place, “Okay. We’ll take Zinzi.”  
Without further ado, the two boys sprinted off towards the kennels to release the three wolves. Evelyn turned, prepared to follow the rest of her family when her face came in contact with a metal chest. Groaning at the sting of metal against her forehead, she rubbed it and looked up at the person she had collided with.  
“I’m sorry….”  
Looking way up at the person, she realized she was looking up into the piercing green eyes of Jaime Lannister! Oh, how embarrassing!  
The Kingslayer smirked at her, “It is quite alright Lady Stark.”  
Evelyn shook her head, “I am not Lady Stark Ser Jaime. Just Evelyn. Lady Stark is my mother.”  
Jaime smiled at her, “Of course. I am sorry I was standing in your way but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation with your brothers.”  
“Oh Rickon and Bran,” Evelyn chuckled.  
Jaime nodded, “You seem close to them.”  
“They remind me of my brother and I when we were little,” Evelyn replied, her voice softening as she watched her brothers run out of Winterfell with the wolves on their heels.  
“Lady Evelyn!” one of the villagers cried, rushing over to the girl and giving Jaime a hasty bow. “You have to come quick! Jerald has fallen from the tree again.”  
“Again?” Evelyn sighed, “It’s a miracle his bones heal! I’m coming.”  
With that, the girl spun around and bowed to Jaime, “If you will excuse me Ser Jaime.”  
Without waiting for his reply, the girl hurried off after the villager, leaving behind a rather surprised and intrigued Lannister.


	4. Chapter 3

Evelyn was seated in the stall with Zinzi. The wolf was curled up at her feet, resting her pretty black head on Evelyn’s lap. Already the wolf was about the size of a half-grown puppy and came up to the girl’s knee when she stood up.   
“I wonder what the banquet will be like tonight,” the girl said to the pup, ruffling the wolf’s ears.  
Zinzi cooed at her owner and licked Evelyn’s fingers. “Yeah probably. Robb will let Arya do whatever, but I’ll probably never get the chance to dance knowing him. If I dance with him and Jon, I’ll be fine. Not Theon though! He spends half the time talking rather than dancing!”  
Zinzi’s ears perked up suddenly and the wolf let out a soft bark at the door.  
Evelyn was on her feet in a second and reaching for the dagger which Robb and Jon always insisted she wear in her belt underneath her cloak. She had taken off her thick fur cloak from the day before and had replaced it with her daily wool dark blue one which was slightly soiled but much more comfortable.  
Her fingers wrapped around the hilt and she prepared to pounce. Zinzi crouched in front of her, prepared to jump, hair raised when suddenly a voice cried from outside.  
“Hello! We were told that this is the apothecary. Please, my brother is hurt!”  
Evelyn’s eyes widened and releasing the dagger, she rushed to the door and opened it all the way. Standing there was Princess Myrcella. She had one arm wrapped around her brother, Prince Tommen who was clutching his hand while holding his fingers closed, blood seeping through them.   
“Lady Stark!” Myrcella cried in surprise.  
“Come in quickly!” Evelyn cried, standing to the side.   
The two rushed in and Evelyn followed them, leaving the door open. She held out her hand and Zinzi at once stopped growling and curled up on the floor under the table, so she was out of the way.  
“What happened?” Evelyn cried as she helped Tommen sit down in the chair.  
“I tripped and my hand grabbed my sword… the blade was slightly drawn… I cut my palm.” The boy replied.  
Evelyn gently held out her hand to the boy, “Let me see.”  
Tommen held out his hand, surprised that the girl hadn’t paled at the sight of the blood. Myrcella had sunk into a chair and was staring wide eyed, teary eyed at the sight. Evelyn took his hand and gently pried his fingers back.  
“It’s not bad,” She replied, “It could have been worse.”  
The girl rushed off and began to grab materials. Within seconds she had found gauze and had bound it around the boy’s hand to stop the bleeding while she prepared a disinfection ointment.”  
“You are the physician?” Tommen inquired; the pain having disappeared after the girl had given him a little pain reliever.  
Evelyn chuckled, “I’m not a physician… just a healer. I find it soothing.”  
Tommen didn’t take his eyes off the girl as she busied about, getting the correct herbs for the ointment. He had never met anyone so brave and calm as her. She was amazing! Tommen had always yearned for a loving mother… not someone harsh and cold like his mother and this woman seemed like a pure angel from heaven.  
Evelyn located a handkerchief and handed it to Myrcella who took it and wiped her eyes. Just as Evelyn returned to her mixing, Zinzi bristled and startled the two royal kids when she growled in her throat.  
“What’s wrong Zinzi?” Evelyn inquired, patting the wolf’s head.  
Zinzi looked at the door and everyone turned to see that someone had appeared in the doorway. There stood the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. He was no longer wearing his golden armor but rather a leather outfit but of course he still had his sword on his person. His blond hair was slightly windblown having run there and he was panting slightly.  
“Tommen,” he sighed, glad he had located the boy, “Are you alright?”  
Tommen nodded and smiled, holding up his partially bound hand, “Lady Stark has it under control.”  
“Just Evelyn your highness,” Evelyn said, smiling, “I’m not Lady Stark yet and probably never will be.”  
With that, the girl walked back to Tommen and knelt down on the floor in front of him so she was level with his hand. Placing the bowl on her lap, she began to unwound the gauze.  
“Why do you say that?” Myrcella inquired. “You would make a wonderful lady!”  
Evelyn smiled at the girl as she slowly removed the gauze to look at the extent of Tommen’s wound.  
Jaime entered the stall, forgetting to close the door, “That is pretty deep! Are you sure you know what you are doing?”  
Evelyn looked at him and while her face smiled reassuringly at him, her eyes flashed with a defiant fire that caught Jaime off guard, “I’ve seen worse. My brothers aren’t exactly the most graceful of men.”  
This caused Myrcella and Tommen to chuckle and Jaime found himself smiling despite himself. He walked over and stood next to Myrcella, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.  
Evelyn blew on Tommen’s wound and considered it a moment, “It will probably close up entirely in a few days without stitches. You shouldn’t wield a sword during that time though.”  
Tommen nodded, “Good excuse to not practice.”  
Evelyn chuckled and reaching down, lathered her finger in the thick ointment. Slowly she placed it on the wound and began to massage it into the wound. Tommen shivered from the contact of the cold ointment but never winced or cringed for the girl’s hands were gentle and soft. He could barely feel any pain or pressure.  
When she finished, Evelyn wiped off her finger on the dirtied gauze. Reaching down she grabbed the roll of bandages and began to gently bind the boy’s hand. Myrcella shivered just then but only Jaime heard her… but somehow Evelyn heard it too.  
“Zinzi, door,” the girl said softly.  
Jaime watched in amazement as the dire wolf rose to her feet and approaching the door, pushed it closed with her head before returning to her spot next to Evelyn. Evelyn held out the dirtied gauze to the wolf who carried it over to a bin in the corner which held all the soiled bandages and dropped it in.  
When Zinzi sat down next to Evelyn, Myrcella approached the wolf who looked at her quizzically.  
“May I pet her?” the girl asked.  
Evelyn looked at her and smiled, “Of course your highness. Zinzi, play nice.”  
Zinzi looked at her master a moment before turning to Myrcella and gently pressed her nose against the girl’s hand. The smile on the girl’s face widened and she began to fondle the wolf’s ears which earned a happy coo from the wolf, widening the girl’s smile.  
“How is she so tame?” Tommen inquired as Evelyn finished binding his hand.  
“Dire wolves are seen as beasts,” Evelyn replied, “But like many creatures, they are misunderstood. When I was a child, two pups were abandoned. One of them was given to my brother Jon and the other was given to my brother’s friend Theon. Both were males and identical. However, Jon’s was raised differently and was always docile, friendly but protective. Theon’s wasn’t given enough attention and training as a pup and grew up to be aggressive and prone to attack people. If you raise an animal correctly with plenty of care and love, they will return it and be the best friend ever.”  
Jaime noticed with interest that his nephew and niece were listening to Evelyn with rapt attention, eyes wide and smiles on their faces.   
“It’s the same with children,” Evelyn replied, “Every child is different but if they are raised with love, care and brought up in a happy environment, they will reflect how they were raised.”  
Tommen slowly ducked his head, “Then how come our brother is so different? He is nothing like Myrcella.”  
Evelyn smiled sweetly, and Jaime noticed that the flash of fire in her eyes didn’t fade. She was not afraid to speak her mind! “It is the same with you and your brother. I do not know how you and your siblings were raised, but Joffrey might have been raised different or taught different things because he is the eldest and the heir. However, some children are just naturally kind, shy, aggressive or rebellious. My sisters Arya, Sansa and I were all raised the same, but we are nothing alike. Arya is just naturally tough and rebellious. It is just in her blood I guess.”  
Jaime smiled, finding himself entranced by this young Stark and her words of wisdom.  
“There,” she said, letting Tommen’s hand go, “You’re already to go.”  
Tommen looked down at his bound hand and smiled. It was securely but comfortably bound.  
“Thank you! Anything I should do for it?”  
Evelyn thought a moment, “Maybe come back tomorrow or the day after and I’ll clean it one more time. After that, you can air it out so that it can heal.”  
Tommen nodded before getting to his feet. He wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist and hugged her. Evelyn smiled warmly and hugged him back before bowing her head respectfully.  
Tommen trotted over to his uncle while Myrcella approached Evelyn.  
“I have never met anyone who enjoys this so much!” The girl said, gazing around the room, “It almost makes me feel safe…”  
Evelyn smiled, “That is why I like it. It makes me feel reassured knowing that I can take care of someone or myself if we’re hurt. Actually…. I have something for you princess.”  
“You can just call me Myrcella,” the girl said, smiling.  
Evelyn nodded before heading to the counter and reaching into a jar, drew out a small paper packet. She held it out to the girl who looked at it.  
“It’s an herb?” she asked, her eyes widening, “What does it do?”  
“it is for extreme emergencies,” Evelyn explained, “If you ever encounter someone or you yourself is dying from a serious injury, sickness or poisoning, dissolve the herb in water and drink it immediately. It will throw you into a protective coma. While in the coma, you will be stabilized enough that no matter how bad the injury or sickness, you will not die. You’ll be in the coma for about a week, keeping you alive long enough till you can get help.”  
Myrcella’s face lit up, “That’s amazing! Thank you so much! But I cannot accept it! It is too precious a gift!”  
Evelyn chuckled and pushed the packet back into the girl’s hands, squeezing the girl’s hands, “It’s a gift for a friend. I am glad I am your friend Prin…. Myrcella. Besides, I collect the herb all the time! People mistake it for a weed and do not always know it’s full potential. It’s the least I can do.”  
Myrcella’s face lit up and she hugged Evelyn before rushing over to Tommen, showing off the herb. Over their heads, Jaime looked over at Evelyn who was smiling happily at the joyful kids.  
“We should get going,” Tommen admitted, “Thank you again Evelyn! We’ll see you tonight at the banquet!”  
Evelyn nodded and watched as the two children headed out. She knelt down and picked up Zinzi when Jaime approached her. Looking way up into his green eyes, Evelyn looked at him puzzled.  
Jaime bowed to the girl, hand on his chest in respect, “I wanted to thank you personally for helping my nephew. Even some of the oldest, most gifted healers have never taken care of an injury so quickly and efficiently. I have to admit, I was impressed. Not only by your talent but by your gentle knowledge and your kindness to Myrcella and Tommen.”  
Evelyn smiled in understanding, but Jaime still sensed that a part of Evelyn was wary of him or didn’t yet approve of him entirely.  
“They are wonderful children. I am glad I was of help.”  
Jaime nodded before bowing one more time, realizing that at that time he couldn’t get anything else from her even though he just wished to look upon her face longer. Taking one last look at her pale, fair face, he turned and left the stall after closing the door. Evelyn sighed and holding Zinzi to her chest, set about cleaning up with her head swimming with puzzlement at the King slayer’s behavior.


	5. Chapter 4

Evelyn stared at herself in the rugged mirror. In Winterfell there were no perfect mirrors but rather clusters of glass that made one look oblong like looking at your reflection in a pot. She had no idea why but her whole family had rebelled against her in deciding what to wear. The moment Sansa suggested her blue gown, that had just recently been made for her for special occasions, Arya agreed that she must wear it. Evelyn had sought out Robb and Jon for backup but even though both considered the fact that it would draw male eyes, they backed Arya and Sansa up. Even Bran and Rickon practically teared up, pleading with their sister for both adored the very dirt Evelyn walked on and loved it when she looked her best.   
Her mother had immediately agreed to the outfit and even gave the girl her silver feather earings which matched the color.  
Evelyn knew her father would back her up when he realized the cut of the dress but when Ned Stark found himself facing off 99% of his family including Jon, he backed out. Trust the warrior to be the coward when it came to a family dual!  
Now, Evelyn stood before the mirror in a long blue gown that reached the top of her shoes. Her arms, neck and most of her collar bone and part of her back was bare. Shivering, she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. She was hoping to keep it on as ong as possible. Her jet black hair was pulled up into a mostly up loose messy bun at the back of her head, two locks curling in front of her ears, framing her fair white face.   
The silver earrings accented the gold of her eyes and the darkness of her hair.  
“It could be worse,” she said aloud, “At least Sansa didn’t have me wear makeup!”  
Speak of the devil and he shall appear for Sansa appeared just then, a familiar box in her hands…. Her makeup box!  
Evelyn at once regretted telling Sansa two years ago that makeup was made of different plants, dyes and earthly materials. Sansa had almost held a knife to Evelyn’s back, forcing her to make homemade makeup. Now, once a month Sansa made a visit to the girl’s stall to order more makeup.  
“Sansa…” Evelyn started but Sansa cut her off.  
“Uh uh,” Sansa said, “You will let me doll you up tonight!”  
As Sansa set to work preparing Evelyn, the older Stark noticed Sansa ha golden makeup on herself.  
“Already wearing the Lannister colors huh?” she teased.  
Sansa blushed as she applied an eyeshadow to Evelyn’s eyes, “Well I cannot stop Joffrey from looking at me.”  
“You’re looking at him too,” Evelyn observed, crossing her arms.  
Sansa smirked as she opened the lipstick, “You’re one to talk!”  
“I don’t have my eyes on anyone,” Evelyn retorted.  
Sansa smiled, “I didn’t mean that. I mean someone has his eyes on you”  
“Who? Theon?” Evelyn snorted, hoping to call Sansa’s bluff.  
Sansa shook her head, “The Queen’s brother, the Kingslayer.”  
Evelyn froze which actually made Sansa happy for she needed to apply base color.  
“Jaime Lannister?”  
Sansa smirked, “First name basis huh?”  
“As if!” Evelyn shot back, “You do realize he is at least 10 years older than me?”  
“So what?” Sansa asked, “Mother and father aren’t exactly the same age.”  
Evelyn shook her head, “You’re making a deal out of nothing. Why would you even think the Kingslayer had eyes for me? Besides, he made a vow.”  
“In case you forgot, he was never one to stay true to vows,” Sansa said, grabbing some rouge, “And yes, I have evidence of him watching you. Even Robb and Jon have noticed him looking at you. It’s a miracle he doesn’t burn a hole into your face at meals. You should have seen him yesterday when you and Robb were sparring.”  
Evelyn froze, “He…. Was watching?”  
Sansa nodded, noticing Evelyn’s blushing face, “He and his sister.”  
Evelyn’s mind flooded back to the day before in early morning…  
FLASHBACK  
Robb and Evelyn were always up before the sun. Ever since Robb lost an arm wrestle to Theon when they were ten, the twins would get up together and go horseback riding for an hour. During that time they would practice archery ad bring back rabbits which they would give away to whoever needed it. Once back, the sun would still be low so they would chop firewood till the others were awake, filling the stock pile.   
That particular morning they were going hard at the logs. More logs were used with the guests so there was more wood needed to be cut.  
The two had finally ended in a game. They would take turns throwing a log and the other would throw their hatchet to cut it midair to practice their aim. However, Evelyn wasn’t the best with hatchets so she missed frequently and finally losing her patience, she drew her double swords that Jon had made her for her 15thbirthday.  
“ooh!” Rob hooted, “Someone lose their patience?”  
“none of your business,” Evelyn sneered.  
She was always competitive with Robb and slightly dangerous in the morning.  
Taking the two swords, she began to slice through logs mercilessly till all the logs were cut.  
“You left none for me!” Robb whined.  
Sighing, Evelyn turned on him with a smirk, “Want a round before breakfast?”  
Robb smiled back and drew his sword, “You’re on!”  
Soon the two were going at it hard and both sweating from the exercise. Neither moved or wavered when blocking a blow and continued to carry on a conversation the whole time.  
“One of these days I will not be here,” Robb stated, “Who will you spend your mornings with when that happens?”  
“My husband. Duh!” Evelyn teased, noting Robb’s shocked expression, “Those will be the good days.”  
“Like that would happen!” Robb yelled, striking a blow but Evelyn blocked it.  
Evelyn blocked another blow, “What? I will marry one day.”  
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Robb snapped, “I’m not handing my sister off to some leech!”  
“What if I meet a lovely , kind man like father?”  
“Then I might let you go,” Robb observed, “He would have to be exceptionally smart, kind, brave and loyal. If he cheats on you or doesn’t protect you, he’ll face my wrath!”  
Evelyn ducked and laid a blow, “So scary! I’ll be sure to tell him about the time you proposed marriage to me!”  
Robb’s eyes widened, “I was only four! I was stupid then!”  
“Talking about how Robb wanted to marry you when you grew up?” Jon asked, having suddenly appeared.  
Rob got distracted by his arrival and Evelyn tripped him, “I win. And yes, we were Jon.”  
“Impeccable timing mate,” Robb growled.  
What none of the three knew was that Jaime had seen the whole thing and had overheard it all. He stood still in his night garb on the balcony outside his bedroom that he shared with Tyrion. “Those children are so savage,” Cersei remarked, appearing on the balcony from the room next door, “I thought Evelyn would have some manners but she’s as bad as Arya.”  
Jaime looked down at the three and smiled. He wouldn’t ever tell Cersei, but he found the bond between the three refreshing, strong and lovely to watch. But the certain Stark girl was what really caught his attention. Her calm but firm and brave outer shell, lacing her kind, soft and gentle gracefulness reminded him of the soft winter lilies he had seen in the woods. So pretty and fragile but so strong they only grew in the cold. Evelyn Stark…. Was a wonder.  
Flashback End  
Evelyn rolled her eyes, “You didn’t hear their conversation, so they could have been saying anything!”  
Sansa shrugged, “if that helps you sleep at night sister.”  
Stepping back, she took in her masterpiece. Evelyn’s makeup was minimal but brought some color to her lips and cheeks. Silver dusting covered her eye lids while the mascara brought out her naturally long lashes.  
Makeup, hair (7th hairstyle from the top), earrings  
“You’re stunning!” the girl squealed, “Now off to the banquet!”


	6. Chapter 5

Evelyn eyed the many glasses of wine on the table. She always despised alcohol because of what it did to men and what they did to women sometimes when they were drunk. It just didn’t make sense to her that people would spend fortunes and time buying and drinking alcohol when there were things like chocolate to eat!  
“Evelyn!” Robb called, holding up a lemon cake, “Catch!”  
Evelyn smirked at her twin and easily caught the lemon cake. Luckily it wasn’t powdery or crumbly so it didn’t make a mess. Evelyn looked over at where Sansa was talking to their mother and the queen. Cersei creeped Evelyn out. There was something about her that just seemed off. It was like she was out to kill everyone who wasn’t her brother or children.  
“Eve,” Arya whispered, “Mother is trying to get your attention.”  
Evelyn turned around to see that sure enough, Sansa was returning to her seat at the table and Catelyn was motioning to her eldest daughter. Getting up, Evelyn approached the two women and bowed.  
“You are quite beautiful dove,” Cersei said but Evelyn sensed that her words were only partially genuine, “How old are you?”  
“Seventeen your majesty,” Evelyn replied.  
“And you have a twin brother?” Cersei inquired, “As do i. we have something in common.”  
Evelyn smiled, trying to appear genuine and just hoped her smile didn’t reveal her inward disgust.   
“Evelyn dear,” Catelyn said, interrupting the conversation, “Can you ask Robb to see Arya to bed? She is tormenting Sansa.”  
Evelyn nodded and bowed to Cersei before heading back to the table. She placed a hand on Robb’s shoulder and whispered the message into his ear. Nodding, her twin got up and picking Arya up, saw the girl to her room.  
Evelyn was about to sit down when Theon appeared behind her. Oh great! Theon always waited till Robb was gone before he tried to flirt or approach Evelyn. The boy knew that Jon and Robb were overly protective of her and with Jon not allowed in the banquet and Robb off seeing their sister to bed, Evelyn was no longer protected.  
“Hey Evie!” Theon chirped.  
Evelyn looked over her shoulder at the boy and gave him a teasing smirk, “Hello Greyjoy. I thought you would be half drunk by now.”  
“Nah, I’m working on not drinking at least tonight,” Theon replied.  
Evelyn rolled her eyes and began to pull out her chair when Theon’s hands found their way to Evelyn’s waist. ‘Think of an excuse to move,’ the girl thought to herself, ‘what would be a good excuse?’  
Suddenly, the girl noticed her father standing nearby talking to the Kingslayer. Honestly, she didn’t want to interrupt her father’s conversation, but she had no choice. Pushing Theon’s hands off her waist, she glared at him.  
“Excuse me, I have to ask my father something.”  
With that she walked off briskly, straight for her father. She approached her father, so quickly, trying to get as far from Theon as quickly as possible that her presence did not go unnoticed by Ned and Jaime. Both turned to look at her, surprised that she seemed slightly uncomfortable.  
“Everything alright Evelyn?” Ned inquired, smiling softly at his daughter.  
Evelyn nodded, “Yes father… may I be excused to go outside? It’s a little loud in here.”  
Ned smiled and nodded. Reaching forward, he pulled his daughter’s cloak further over her shoulders. He noticed that she hadn’t removed her cloak and so far, none of Evelyn’s siblings or her mother had brought it up and honestly, Ned didn’t mind for he knew the moment it came off, Evelyn would catch a few too many eyes.  
However, while Ned Stark was talking to his daughter, Jaime couldn’t help but sense an all too familiar vibe…. It was just like the vibe he felt when he found someone who was in trouble or running from something. Jaime furrowed his brow. Who was the girl running from? He was surprised Ned didn’t recognize it. Obviously, he wasn’t as experienced in war as Jaime was. Glancing about, Jaime’s piercing green eyes landed on the boy who stood by the Stark family’s table. He was watching Evelyn intently, a dark look in his eyes. He recognized that look too…. Like Evelyn wasn’t a human but an object…. His next meal.  
Jaime felt his blood boil. Had the boy tried to touch the young Stark? Was that why she had approached them hastily? To escape the Greyjoy boy?   
Evelyn quickly bowed, excusing herself before heading out the door. Jaime watched her go and didn’t fail to notice that the Greyjoy kid followed her shortly afterwards, confirming his suspicions.  
“Excuse me Lord Stark,” Jaime said, bowing.  
Ned didn’t seem to mind Jaime leaving and was actually relieved that he didn’t have to speak with the Kingslayer anymore. Jaime knew it would appear suspicious if he followed Evelyn directly, so he decided to take the roundabout way. Heading through the doorway that led to the kitchen, Jaime waited till he was out of sight of the other Starks before he began to run.  
He did not know the building well but after asking a servant where the nearest exit was, he rushed off, hoping he could locate the young Stark in time.  
Meanwhile, Evelyn had stepped outside into the dark cold and had breathed a sigh of relief. Having lived her whole life in the north, Evelyn was more used to the cold than to the warmth and she loved the cold. She was more resilient to it than most but so far, the cold had not hardened her too much.  
Walking a ways off, she headed towards the dire wolf kennels, prepared to let Zinzi out for a walk. She was just crossing over to the building when she sensed a presence behind her. She mentally cursed herself. She had tried to find a place to hide a dagger in her outfit, but Sansa had found out and insisted that she not attend the banquet with a weapon.  
Really Sansa? She could use it right now!   
“Hey Evie,” Theon’s voice remarked from behind her.  
Evelyn tensed and prepared her hands. She didn’t have a weapon, but she had her fists. She turned around. One thing her father always taught her was never face an enemy with your back turned.  
Theon was definitely drunk from his flushed face and wobbly walking. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, gripping it rather tight.  
“Want to have this dance?” he asked, slightly slurred.  
Evelyn rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her shoulder, “You’re drunk Greyjoy. You should get a drink of water and plenty of sleep if you want to not have a headache tomorrow.”  
“Oh come on Evie!” Theon whined, grabbing her wrist with his other hand, “just one kiss!”  
Evelyn snorted, “Go kiss Sansa!”  
“Sansa doesn’t like me,” the boy whimpered.  
“I wonder why,” Evelyn muttered, “Now off you go…. Unless you want me to give you another black eye. Don’t you remember the last one?”  
“Oh yeah!” Theon chuckled, “On your last birthday. I made a mess of your stall making your present,”  
“Messing my stall was the present,” Evelyn growled, “Come on Theon. Let’s get you to bed.”  
She removed her wrist from his hand and was about to push him inside when he spun around and slammed her against a nearby wall. Evelyn’s head swam from the contact and she groaned. Her dress and cloak did not offer a lot of protection against contact for they weren’t as thick as her usual clothes so she could feel every splinter in the wall behind her and the tight grip Theon had on her shoulder and waist.  
“Theon Greyjoy, you will let go of me now,” she warned.  
“Or what Evie?” Theon slurred, getting his face a little too close to Evelyn’s, “You’ll tell Robb? Robb’s busy.”  
Evelyn glared, “Your breath smells horrible Theon. Stop it right now. I can make sure you never have children in future you know.”  
Theon cocked his head to the side before smirking. That was when Evelyn realized her mistake. She had used that threat on him before and now, he knew what she meant. He spread his legs apart and planting his feet on top of hers so that she could not lift her knee or her foot to kick him in the pants. She tried to reach up with her free hand, but Theon pinned it to her.  
Theon was never stronger than her, but Evelyn’s outfit didn’t exactly let her move very much and Theon was strangely strong for a drunk person. The wine must have done something to him.  
“Theon please,” Evelyn pleaded, having no other choice but to beg him to stop.  
Theon bent his head down and was about to place his mouth on her neck, despite the girl who was almost in tears when he was torn from her and thrown bodily across the snowy ground.  
“Do you have no courtesy towards a lady?” The Kingslayer hissed.


	7. Chapter 6

Evelyn stared at the tall blond Lannister in surprise. He had arrived rather unexpectedly and looked like he had followed her, expecting a fight. He was wearing a dark red leather outfit and even though his sword was not strapped to his waist, he had it in his hand, having grabbed it on his way out. His golden hair was slightly rumpled from running and he was panting slightly.  
Theon rose to his feet and Jaime approached him, drawing his sword just slightly to frighten the boy. It worked and Theon stumbled back.  
“You head to bed right this instant young man,” Jaime growled.  
Theon nodded vigorously before heading off into the night, back to his room. He didn’t even think of taking a detour. The Kingslayer scared him. When Theon was gone and his footfalls were no longer heard, Jaime turned to the girl who had slowly stood up. Her cloak had fallen to the ground which was the first thing Jaime noticed.  
Thrusting his sword into his belt, he reached down and picked up the cloak. He was just about to hold it out to her when he froze. Evelyn Stark stood before him in all her glory. Her black hair was slightly mussed up from the incident, a few extra wisps of black hair floating about her fair face. Her amber eyes staring up at him, shining in the moonlight. The pale moonlight reflected off her deep blue dress and off her pale white shoulders and neck which were now bare without her cloak.   
Jaime realized he had been staring a little too long before he stepped forward, holding the cloak open for the girl. Evelyn stepped into it and he wrapped it around her shoulders gently.  
“Thank you, Ser Jaime,” the girl said softly, clipping the cloak back on, “Theon has never been like that before.”  
Jaime nodded, “Men do strange things when their minds are clouded by drink. He didn’t harm you did he my lady?”  
Evelyn shook her head, “No…. just scared me is all.”  
A smirk flashed onto the Lannister’s face, “So the Wolf pup can be afraid of some things?”  
Evelyn looked up at him and a fire flashed in her amber eyes, “Everyone is afraid of something Ser Jaime.”  
“Touché my lady,” Jaime said, smirking, “You are quite right. I am not sure what I fear though.”  
“You will one day… or you might mistake it for anger,” Evelyn remarked, “Sometimes instead of feeling fear, we feel anger because the fear is so great. When someone you love is in danger, that is naturally something you would fear but most of the time, we feel anger when someone we love is threatened because the fear is so great, it goes to our head before we realize what is wrong with our hearts.”  
Evelyn stopped and looked up at the Kingslayer to realize he was staring at her with wide green eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. Evelyn’s cheeks warmed and she hoped Jaime would think it was just from the cold.  
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.  
Jaime shook his head, “On the contrary my lady. I never thought of fear in that way… but now that you mention it, it makes sense.”  
Evelyn lifted her eyes to meet his and found that she couldn’t help but admit that his eyes were beautiful…. In fact…. When he wasn’t smirking cockily, he really was handsome.  
Shaking the thoughts out of her head, the girl bowed her head, “Thank you again for saving me Ser Jaime…. If you’ll excuse me, I should probably go back to my mother and Sansa.”  
Jaime nodded before holding out his arm, “Allow me to escort you this time my lady.”  
Evelyn smiled, and she and Jaime walked back into the banquet together. When Robb saw his sister reenter the room with the Kingslayer with her, his blue eyes at once darkened with fury.   
Jaime didn’t seem to notice this, or he chose to not acknowledge the dark look that Robb and now Ned Stark were giving him even across the whole room.  
Turning to the woman at his side, Jaime bowed deeply, “Would you mind if I asked you for a dance Lady Evelyn?”  
Evelyn seemed surprised by his request but after thinking it over, it was the least she could do after all he had done for her, “I don’t believe I would Ser Jaime.”  
Smirking at the girl, Jaime held out his hand and taking her slender, pale hand into his, Jaime led her onto the dance floor. Evelyn could feel the eyes of all the Starks as well as Cersei on her and Jaime, but she decided to ignore them.   
Jaime wrapped an arm around her waist and gently took her right hand in his left, leading her through the slow but gentle dance. They were about two minutes into the dance when Evelyn realized that her cloak was covered in snow and she was beginning to feel it through her dress, and she knew that the snow was probably freezing Jaime’s hand. The moment she saw the Lannister try to stifle a shiver, she paused.  
Reaching up, she unclipped the clip of her cloak and slowly removed her cloak. Jaime watched her with wide eyes and even though she looked lovely before him in the torch and candlelight, he couldn’t help but remember how she had looked in the moonlight just moments before.  
“Are you not uncomfortable?” he asked in a low voice, noticing the girl slightly tense.  
Evelyn looked up at him and smiled, “I’m dancing with a member of the Kings guard. You’re legendary. I cannot get more uncomfortable than that.”  
Jaime smirked at her, placing his hand on her waist in a slightly more direct fashion than he had before, causing the girl to gasp softly, “I make you uncomfortable?”  
Evelyn pursed her lips together in thought as Jaime took her hand in his, “I don’t believe I feel uncomfortable around you as a man but rather the figure and title surrounding you.”  
Jaime smiled at the girl in wonder, “Will you ever cease to amaze me Lady Evelyn?”  
Evelyn felt her cheeks heat up and bowed her head, averting her eyes from his gaze to hide her blushing face, “I apologize.”  
Jaime shook his head, “Never apologize. I rather enjoy your company Lady Evelyn. It is refreshing and might I be so blunt, rather amusing.”  
Evelyn looked up at him and smirked, “well I can honestly say that I do not dislike your company so much Ser Jaime.”  
Jaime’s eyes lit up and he smiled, bending his head to hover his face close to Evelyn’s, “So I’m pleasant to be around?”  
Evelyn eyed him suspiciously, “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to use that against me?”  
Jaime chuckled, his eyes lighting up with his laughter, “Lady Evelyn, you truly are something.”  
Trying to keep her blushing face down, Evelyn decided to say something to disguise her blush, “You should laugh more…. It suits you.”  
Jaime slowed his laughter to look down at the girl before him. He had begun to notice the many stares from unwanted eyes… and not all of them were from agitated twins or fathers. Not wanting Evelyn to have a similar encounter to the one earlier, Jaime pulled her closer to him as if trying to scare off the greedy male eyes. However, he knew that wasn’t going to work so after the song ended, Jaime led the girl back to her seat next to Robb and helped the girl pull her cloak back on which had now dried off.   
“Thank you, Ser Jaime,” the girl said, smiling at him.  
Robb gave the man a glare and also a quizzical look, but Jaime gave him a pointed look and Robb seemed to catch on to what was going on. Jaime held out his hand and Evelyn placed hers in his. Bowing over her hand, Jaime planted a warm kiss on her hand, looking at her from behind his blond locks.  
“Be sure to head home with someone this time my lady.”  
Evelyn blushed and nodded, smiling, “Thank you again Ser Jaime.”  
letting his lips hover over the girl’s lips for a spell, Jaime smiled before heading off, sure Robb would take care of his sister… but a part of him almost wished that decency and decorum didn’t hold himself back from being the one to escort Evelyn…. Or to be in her presence longer and into the night.


	8. Chapter 7

It was silent as the Lannister’s broke their fast together with the three Baratheon children. Robert had yet to arrive, having slept in with a hangover from the night before. It was surprisingly quiet at the table with no chit chat between Myrcella and Tommen, whining from Joffrey or even Tyrion making some wittily wise comment.  
Jaime honestly enjoyed the silence at the table that particular morning for it meant that he would not get interrupted from his thoughts which were most of the time hard to organize or think about because every second of the day he had someone banging to get his attention.  
Cersei noticed Jaime’s seemingly calm demeanor and knew that there was something on his mind. However, every time she went to say something, one of her children would whisper something to her and she never got the chance. This of course earned a discreet smirk from Tyrion who seemed to be the only one at the table who had any idea what his older brother was thinking about.  
Cersei couldn’t seem to forget watching her twin walk into the banquet the night before with Evelyn Stark practically on his arm. And then to see her brother willingly ask the girl to dance without the girl or someone else suggesting it first surprised and infuriated Cersei. She had seen plenty of women in her life who fawned over Jaime, but Evelyn Stark was not one of them. In Cersei’s eyes she was still a child, just a little girl compared to her and Jaime who were already in their early thirties. She had never seen Jaime show any interest towards young girls except Myrcella whom he treated gently whenever he could.  
The woman couldn’t seem to figure out what had possessed Jaime to dance with the Stark girl. Naturally it was a banquet and there was dancing but Jaime was never the dancing type and Cersei didn’t fail to notice that Jaime’s face was practically alight with happiness whilst he danced but he kept it hidden behind his cocky smirk. Few people knew when Jaime was happy, annoyed or just content. One had to look at his eyes, his posture, how he moved, what he said and even his smirk looked different depending on his mood.  
Of course, Cersei had first thought that her brother had offered to dance with the girl to either break boredom or to avoid someone but that wasn’t the case for Jaime didn’t appear desperate. Cersei had then thought he had done it out of trying to make her jealous. They had been on the road over a month traveling from King’s Landing to Winterfell and during that time she and Jaime had no time to spend any alone time together and when they arrived in Winterfell, she expected Jaime to take the first opportunity to find her alone. However, after the banquet with Robert passed out drunk, Cersei had waited almost all night for Jaime, but he never came. Finally, she had gone looking for him, only to find him contentedly sleeping in his room with Tyrion. Tyrion of course was snoring and drunk, but Jaime looked like he was getting the best sleep of his life, a slight smile on his features and his whole body relaxed. Cersei hadn’t seen him like that conscious or asleep in many years.  
Of course, the thought that maybe her twin really did want to dance with Evelyn Stark, never crossed Cersei’s mind. She was confident in herself and sure she had her twin wrapped around her little finger. Needless to say, the woman was completely unaware that her assumption was terribly wrong.  
The moment Jaime rode into Winterfell and his blue eyes landed on the jet-black raven hair, fair almost pale complexion, pouty and defiant lips and shining golden eyes, he was gone. It was like someone had turned off his brain and restarted it to refresh it and it had turned back on completely relieved of almost everything in the past, including Cersei.  
The first day, Jaime had tried to push the young Stark girl out of his mind, his first reaction being similar to Cersei; thinking that she was just a little girl but after seeing her talk and care for Tommen and Myrcella, her sparring with her brothers and mothering her siblings, he knew that such an assumption was unfair to the girl.   
The girl’s golden amber eyes had completely entranced Jaime and they reminded him of the eyes of a lion. He wondered vaguely if she had been born a Lannister, if anyone would notice the difference other than her hair. However, his idea of Evelyn fitting the description of a lion soon disappeared the moment he saw how she held her head up defiantly and her eyes burned with the blue fire of the north. She was a Stark Wolf, that was for sure. She was stubborn, outspoken, confident and very protective just like a wolf but there were parts of her that resembled a lion: her calm graceful authority, her sweet and caring motherly protection but also her calm sarcastic edge. However, there was something about her that Jaime felt was neither Wolf nor Lion.   
She was like something in between. Smart and quick witted, swift but stealthy… like a cat but so much more agile… it was like Jaime couldn’t decide whether she was a lion or a wolf but finally he gave up on trying to match the girl to a specific animal and resorted to just remembering the events of the night before.  
“My dear brother,” Tyrion finally said, breaking Jaime out of his daydreaming, “You had better stop staring off into space because I happen to be sitting across from you and with that contented look on your face… I’m starting to feel like your possible next meal.”  
Jaime chuckled at his little brother and shook his head, trying to clear it of his daydream.  
“Mother,” Joffrey said just then, “When are you going to talk to Ned Stark about my betrothal to Sansa?”  
“Probably today Joffrey,” Cersei replied, pushing a fake smile onto her face.   
Tyrion cleared his throat and Cersei shot him a warning look, but he completely ignored it, “There is one problem though. If Joffrey is to marry Sansa, Evelyn will have to be wed first.”  
Jaime’s head shot up at this and Cersei didn’t fail to notice, “What do you mean?”  
“Evelyn is the eldest,” Tyrion pointed out, “None of us have experience with elder or younger sisters because Cersei is our only sister and with Myrcella, she is the only girl as well. However, in families who have multiple girls, the eldest is always wed first before the younger.”  
“Poor Arya,” Joffrey smirked, “It will take her forever to get married because she’s the youngest of three!”  
“I don’t think Arya would mind,” Tommen remarked out of the blue, “By the time she is old enough anyway her sisters will be married. Both are very kind and pretty.”  
Tyrion and Jaime both smiled at the young Baratheon while Cersei and Joffrey gave him warning glares.   
“I doubt Ned Stark would mind,” Cersei remarked, “Besides. It is too great an opportunity and an honor to have their daughter engaged to a prince to even care about marrying Evelyn off.”  
“I could always marry Evelyn. She is much more attractive anyway than Sansa,” Joffrey remarked out of the blue.  
Jaime bristled at this and Tyrion didn’t fail to notice.   
“She is too old for you Joffrey,” Tyrion remarked, “Besides, she is much more suited for an older man than a teenage boy.”  
Cersei glowered at Tyrion. She had hoped he wouldn’t bring up the fact that Evelyn had to be married before Sansa but now there was no avoiding it. No way was she going to marry her son to Evelyn Stark. While Sansa was an innocent, completely oblivious child that she could manipulate, Evelyn knew how to hold her own and nothing went unnoticed by the eldest Stark girl.  
“Quite right,” Cersei remarked, “No Joffrey, you will marry Sansa. If Ned Stark is set on marrying Evelyn off first, then we could offer to bring Evelyn to King’s Landing.”  
“Whatever for?” Joffrey whined.  
“To find her a husband,” Cersei replied, “We could set up an engagement for Evelyn as soon as we found a suitable man, leaving Sansa open for you to wed.”  
“What if we don’t find someone?” Joffrey complained. “If I’m to marry Sansa it will be soon.”  
Cersei was about to tell him to not worry about it when Tyrion suddenly spoke up.  
“Why not Jaime?”  
The table snapped into silence at this and all eyes trained on Tyrion. Jaime had gripped his chair underneath the table to conceal his shock at his brother’s statement.  
“What about Jaime?” Cersei asked, faking innocence.  
“We could engage Evelyn to Jaime,” Tyrion replied in a matter-a-fact tone as if everyone should have noticed it before.  
Joffrey furrowed his brow in perplexity while Cersei tried desperately to not choke on her drink, but she found it hard to swallow. Had her brother lost his mind?  
“The Starks would never agree to it,” Cersei mumbled.  
“I think it’s a wonderful idea!” Myrcella chirped, a huge smile on her face, “Lady Evelyn is so nice! She’ll be my aunt! Wouldn’t that be amazing!?”  
Tyrion smiled at his niece, knowing full well that Evelyn would be more of a mother to Myrcella and Tommen, both because of the fact that Evelyn had a motherly nature but also because Tyrion knew that Uncle Jaime was really not an Uncle.   
“But Uncle Jaime is in the Kings guard,” Joffrey pointed out. “He cannot marry.”  
“We could fix that,” Robert’s voice boomed, having stepped into the room and heard the last part of the conversation. “I could relieve Jaime of his post and he could be free to marry. I might even give him Casterly Rock.”  
Cersei’s full attention was on her husband now. He would relieve her brother of the Kingsguard to let him marry the lovely Stark girl and then give him Casterly Rock? That would be the end of it. She knew that if Jaime married Evelyn and even if he didn’t get Casterly Rock, he would no doubt grow out of his love for Cersei and towards Evelyn. Needless to say, she didn’t think that he already was. And then with Casterly Rock and no longer in the Kingsguard, Jaime wouldn’t be at Cersei’s hip day and night!  
“The Starks would never agree to it,” Cersei replied, trying to discourage everyone on the subject but Tommen and Myrcella were already talking amongst themselves about the prospect of having Evelyn as an aunt.  
“Ned Stark would no doubt agree to Sansa’s engagement to Joffrey. Joffrey is a prince and Sansa is already attracted to him. That is one thing taken care of. If Ned wants Evelyn to marry, he’ll do what it takes to find a suitable husband for her. He might not be in favor of the Kingslayer, but Jaime will have Casterly Rock, will be relieved of his post and is a good husband who will protect her. Ned will have no worries about Evelyn being safe.”  
“On the contrary,” Tyrion remarked, “If anyone will be in danger, it would be Jaime…. From Lady Evelyn.”  
Robert laughed heartily at this, earning laughs from his two youngest “children” as well. Jaime smirked at his brother before looking at Robert.  
“Would you agree to it Jaime?” Robert inquired.  
Jaime looked across the table at where Tommen and Myrcella were looking at him expectantly with huge smiles. Joffrey was indifferent with a placid look on his face. Tyrion was smirking at his older brother, preparing to give him a toast the moment Jaime agreed. Cersei however was burning a scowl into Jaime’s face, but Jaime ignored it. Then, a pair of amber eyes shrouded by jet black hair…. The sarcastic but kind remarks…. The gentle words flooded back into his mind and he smiled.  
“I accept.”


	9. Chapter 8

Robb was staring with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. Evelyn stood in front of him, before the royal family and Ser Jaime. Tyrion was standing at his brother’s chair, a pleased look on his face. Cersei looked like someone had eaten her breakfast. The king was grinning from ear to ear and Jaime had his usual cocky smirk on.  
Evelyn was the only one who seemed to have no reaction. She stood silently next to Sansa and Robb, her amber eyes flitting between her parents and the king. She had a calm, placid look on her face as if someone had just confirmed that she was a girl and not a boy.   
“Evelyn is going to be what?” Robb asked, his voice laced with venom and disbelief.  
“She will be married to my brother,” Cersei hissed, hating that she had to admit the truth.  
“I am releasing Jaime from the Kingsguard so he will be compatible for marriage,” the king explained. “it is your choice my child.”  
Evelyn titled her head in confusion at this and Jaime couldn’t help but smile at the almost childish look in her eyes, “My choice?”  
Robert nodded, “You will not be forced into anything. You may choose to accept Ser Jaime, or refuse. Your wish will be seen to.”  
Evelyn knew that her twin brother was mentally praying on his hands and knees that she would refuse but the girl was quicker to notice the catch. If she didn’t marry, Sansa couldn’t we Joffrey. She didn’t know if the king had thought of that, or if it had never crossed his mind but Evelyn knew her answer she wished she could say…. So, she said the thing that everyone, including herself (minus Sansa, Tyrion, Jaime and Robert) wanted to hear.  
“I accept the proposal,” she replied with a deadpan look.  
Jaime felt his heart soar at those words. She agreed to it! She wanted to marry him! But then he took in the girl’s pale face, her quivering bottom lip that only someone like Jaime would notice, the way her eyes looked everywhere but at Jaime… and how she was clutching her skirt. She didn’t really agree… she was saying it not for the reasons Jaime had hoped.  
Then he realized that she had noticed the catch. He had asked Robert not to mention Sansa and Joffrey’s engagement in the hopes Evelyn would speak her mind. The girl was smarter than he gave her credit for.  
Evelyn excused herself and left the room with Sansa and her mother close behind. Robb lingered behind before approaching Jaime.  
“A word Kingslayer.”  
Jaime could tell that the tone of Robb’s voice and the way he used Jaime’s hated title, it wasn’t a question. Nodding his head, Jaime followed the young Stark outside. The moment they were out, Robb had spun to face Jaime, his eyes blazing with the same blue fire that Jaime had seen in Evelyn.  
“You know Evelyn could easily refuse later and the king would agree,” the boy spat.  
Jaime felt his heart clench at this. He hadn’t thought that far and now he did, he knew it to be true.  
Robert practically worshiped Evelyn because of her resemblance to Lyanna.   
“Evelyn might be doing this for Sansa’s sake, but I know the truth about you,” Robb growled. “how you have never stayed true to a vow. There is not a man in Winterfell who wouldn’t give their life to see you dead should you harm Eve.” (Just a note. Evelyn’s nickname: Eve isn’t pronounced: Ee-v but rather Eh-v-ie)  
Jaime nodded. He knew where Robb was getting, and he honestly didn’t blame the boy. The tall man bowed to the young Stark wolf, shocking the boy.  
“I promise you. I swear on all the good left in the world that I will never harm your sister.”  
Robb crossed his arms as Jaime rose to his normal height, “There is very little good left in this world.”  
Jaime smirked, “Then what do you need as proof Robb Stark?”  
Robb thought a moment before meeting Jaime’s eyes steadily with his, “Swear on all that you still love and respect in this world that you will honor my sister and remain loyal to her.”  
A smile appeared on Jaime’s face before he placed his hand over his chest where his heart was, “I swear on all that I still love and respect in this world that I will honor and remain loyal to your sister.”  
Robb nodded stiffly, “Good enough.”  
Clasping his hands behind his back, Robb walked off before stopping and glancing at Jaime over his shoulder, “For now.”  
Jaime smirked as he watched the young Stark boy leave. He honestly wasn’t surprised at the boy’s protectiveness over his sister, but he was amazed at how much of Evelyn he saw in Robb…. Or how much of Robb he saw in Evelyn.   
“Pestering, aren’t they?” a familiar voice asked from behind.  
Jaime turned around to see Cersei standing there alone a smug look on her face.  
“You know it is rude to eavesdrop.” Jaime pointed out.  
Cersei raised her eyebrows, “When the boy was being soooo earnest?”  
Jaime frowned. He could usually handle his sister’s sarcastic remarks but for some reason, now they were just annoying and really ridiculous. Anyone could see that Robb was indeed earnest…. Well anyone but Cersei.  
Rolling his eyes, Jaime was about to walk off when Cersei grabbed his wrist to stop his departure.  
Jaime turned toward his sister, an agitated and impatient look on his face, “What?”  
Cersei took a seductive step toward him and ran her fingers up his arm, “Meet me in the high tower later this afternoon.”  
Jaime glared at his sister and wrenched his arm out of her grasp, “We cannot do this anymore Cersei. I’m engaged to be wed, and you are already married.”  
“That never stopped us before,” Cersei replied, tightening her grip on his arm.  
“Well it will now,” Jaime replied. “We cannot do it anymore.”  
Cersei frowned and let go of Jaime but blocked his departure by planting herself in front of him, “You mean we cannot…. Or you don’t want to? Which is it Jaime?”  
Jaime turned to look away from Cersei and right away she knew the answer, “What is so great about that girl that you no longer have the interest in me?”  
“Because I made a vow to Robb Stark that I would remain loyal to his sister and I intend to keep it,” Jaime replied before holding up his hand to interrupt Cersei’s next remark, “But I am also doing it for Evelyn, not just because of the vow I made to Robb Stark.”  
“Oh this all sucks,” Cersei growled. “of all the reasons…. Wait….”  
Jaime at once felt uncomfortable as his sister took a step forward and stared into his eyes as if trying to read his mind.  
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her!” Cersei hissed. “You love me and no one else!”  
Jaime rolled his eyes, “I never once said that I loved you. You manipulated me from birth to believe that it was love.”  
“Did the Stark twins get to you?” Cersei hissed. “Did their innocent, brother/sister relationship give you ideas?”  
“What if it did!?” Jaime snapped. “They know more about the beauty and innocence of family in their few years than we know and we’re almost twice their age!”  
“At least one of us wishes to remain loyal to our spouse,” he snapped before turning around.  
Cersei smirked, “What if I promised to make your life a living hell if you don’t, Jaime?”  
The knight turned and gave his sister a cold scowl, “You wouldn’t. If you said anything about us, you would be condemned too.”  
Cersei shrugged, “As long as I can take you down with me, I don’t care.”  
“You’ve gotten sick Cersei,” he spat.  
The woman smirked, “What will it be? You meet me and I keep quiet, or your innocent future bride will her the extent of your sins.”  
Jaime sighed. There was no way out of this one.  
“Fine,” He huffed, “But not tonight.”  
Cersei sneered, “Don’t think about running Jaime. I’ll be waiting to collect my payment two weeks from today.”  
“Two weeks from today?” the man asked, “What is so special about two weeks from today?”  
The woman sauntered off but not before answering him, “The day before your wedding.”


	10. Chapter 9

The breakfast table was stone silent the next morning. Evelyn usually loved sitting next to her father, Robb across from her and Rickon at her other side. Now, Robb was staring holes into her head from across the table, everyone else was giving her confused looks while Ned Stark tried to act normal.  
“Mother,” Rickon spoke up, “Why is Eve getting married?”  
The table was swallowed into a thicker silence if that was possible. No one from Arya down knew about the engagement.  
“Eve is getting married?” Arya asked, “Since when?”  
“Since yesterday,” Robb snapped.  
“To whom?” Bran added.  
Robb was about to snap at him too but Jon beat him to it, “A good man Bran. He’ll take good care of Evelyn.”  
All eyes turned to Jon in gratitude. Even Catelyn didn’t glare. They were glad he had avoided the conversation and given the children a comforting answer, even if half the family didn’t agree with his observation.  
“IT’s Ser Jaime isn’t it?” Arya asked.  
Robb and Jon glared daggers at her, but she obviously didn’t notice or chose to ignore it for she kept going, “Anyone would have guessed. It’s obvious!”  
“What do you mean by that?” Sansa asked.  
Robb mentally facepalmed. Was Evelyn the only sister of his with common sense? He noticed Eve had been pale all morning but now her hands were quivering.  
“Don’t you see the way he looks at her?” Arya asked, “Like he just met the sun for the first time. Honestly, I think he’s a little obsessed.”  
Ned Stark was clenched the side of the table, trying to keep himself calm while Catelyn was trying to send her daughters signals to shut up but they didn’t notice them.  
“AT least he doesn’t look at her like a piece of meat,” Robb stated, not meaning to talk but it slipped out.  
Sansa glared at him, knowing that her brother was referring to Joffrey and how he looked at Sansa.  
Arya shrugged, “Just saying. He’ll take care of her, that’s for sure….” Then in a barely audible whisper, “In more ways than one.”  
“ARYA!” Catelyn scolded.  
Jon was up in an instant and escorting Rickon and Bran to a safe distance while Catelyn scolded Arya and Sansa. Robb glanced at where Evelyn sat…. but she was gone. Zinzi too.  
When Jon finally found his half-sister, she was sitting on her thinking rock. Jon smiled. Evelyn had always possessed a special place in Jon’s heart. He had a place in his heart for all the Starks, but Evelyn had been more of a sister to him than anyone.  
Her thinking rock was a large flat boulder right outside the gates in the shadow of a cluster of trees. Once upon a time, Jon had proposed marriage to Evelyn on that rock but the four-year-old girl had informed him that siblings couldn’t marry. Years later, the 9 year old kids made a pact that if they ever had any reason to come to the thinking rock, they would tell the other what it was about.  
“Arya says she’s sorry,” Jon remarked, sitting down behind the girl, stretching his body perpendicular to Evelyn. The girl laid back, so her head was on his stomach like they did as kids.  
“She didn’t do anything wrong… she just said the truth. I should have gotten upset. Those who fear the truth are the ones who are living a lie.”  
Jon smiled and held the girl’s hand, noting that it was cold. “With your brains and wit, you’ll be just fine.”  
When Evelyn didn’t reply, Jon glanced at the girl to see a look of pure fear on her face. Evelyn rarely showed fear so when Jon saw it in her eyes, he knew it was bad.  
“I don’t think my brain and wit will keep certain things from happening for long,” she muttered.  
Jon sighed and sat up, still allowing Evelyn to lay her head in his lap as he ran his fingers through her dark hair, “I honestly don’t know what to say on that matter Eve…. As I have never done it myself and as I will be joining the Night’s Watch, I will have no choice but to never know it.”  
Evelyn nodded and closed her eyes, sighing deeply, “Is it wrong of me to fear it… but to also want it?”  
Jon looked at her puzzled, “What do you mean?”  
The girl sat up and turned to sit facing Jon, their legs stretched out side by side, “Ever since I was little I have always wanted children… but when I learnt from mother what goes into having children, it began to scare me. However, I pushed it into the back of my mind and a part of me still yearns for children and a family of my own… to know what it feels like to have a life growing within you…. To see the outcome of you and your spouse…. but then there is how you get there….”  
“I can honestly say that is something about you I never knew sister,” Jon remarked, smiling fondly at her, “Why did you never mention it?”  
Evelyn sighed, “I thought everyone would find it strange.”  
“No one would find it strange,” Jon replied. “Honestly, there needs to be more people like you in the world Eve. Look at the queen for example. It seems she holds some fondness for her children but no great love for them. I’ll wager she didn’t want children that badly but had to because the king needed an heir.”  
Evelyn nodded, “That’s true. But I will also have to supply Ser Jaime with an heir.”  
“But he’s not the king,” Jon pointed out. “Ser Jaime may be completely different in how he looks at things and he might be willing to give you time until you two decide to consummate.”  
The girl slowly glanced at her brother and smirked, “You’re starting to sound like you don’t think ill of him.”  
Jon squirmed, “I don’t think ill of him….. but I still don’t like some things about him…. ugh it’s complicated! There are people you meet that you can just tell are mean and you shouldn’t trust them because they reek of evil.”  
“Like Cersei.”  
Jon nodded, “But there are others whom you think you shouldn’t trust entirely… but there is something about them that makes you think you can.”  
Evelyn smiled and laid her head on her brother’s shoulder, “Thanks Jon. I’m glad I have you… at least for two more weeks.”  
Jon cringed, “Don’t say it like that! I’m going to have to wear something pretty for the wedding wont I?”  
“Probably.”  
Hello all!!!! Just a quick note: With there being eight parts to this story, I am going to try and limit the number of chapters per part to 15-20 so that some parts aren’t longer than others, though there may be a part or two that may surpass 20 chapters but I’ll try to keep in range:)


	11. Chapter 10

Evelyn tightly strapped her sword to her saddle and made sure that it wouldn’t get in the way of her horse’s movements. She had learnt from her father that even if one was just going hunting, it never hurt to come prepared. She had a bow strapped to her back with a quiver of arrows on the other side of her saddle. Her hunting knife was in her belt and a spare dagger in her boot.  
Evelyn usually felt more at ease when she went hunting with her family because it meant she didn’t have to wear a dress but with the way that Cersei was giving her disgusted looks and Joffrey was ogling at her, she felt like she wanted run in and ask Sansa for a spare riding dress.  
She was just about to lose her cool when Myrcella and Tommen approached. Tommen wore a simple outfit of dark brown leather while Myrcella wore a deep green riding dress.  
“Is hunting here different than in Kings Landing?” Myrcella inquired.  
Evelyn smiled, “I wouldn’t know. I have never been to Kings Landing… but we have slightly larger animals.”  
Tommen’s eyes widened, “Bears?”  
Evelyn nodded, “and cougars, panthers, mountain lions…. Boars….”  
Myrcella had begun to grow pale while Tommen was listening with rapt attention. Evelyn chuckled and ruffled Tommen’s hair playfully before turning to Myrcella.  
“So, who are you riding today?”  
Myrcella’s face lit up at this, “The stable man gave me a black horse. Said he was the gentlest.”  
Evelyn looked over at the black horse that stood behind Myrcella and smiled, “That is Ruse. My siblings and I all learnt to ride on him. He won’t let you fall I can guarantee that.”  
“Myrcella doesn’t really fall off,” Tommen remarked, mounting his horse, “She just gets lost.”  
Myrcella stuck her tongue out at her brother, “Says the guy who never manages to hit anything!”  
“Alright you two,” Evelyn chuckled, bending down next to Myrcella’s horse, “No more bickering.”  
Myrcella looked down at the girl who held her palms out for Myrcella to climb on. the girl looked slightly hesitant and Evelyn knew that the girl was puzzled as to why Evelyn was doing it.  
“My father taught me that a noble who sees himself or herself above his people isn’t a noble at all,” she replied with a smile.  
Myrcella smiled and was about to use Evelyn’s hand as a boost when she paused, “Could you teach me to mount like Tommen does then?”  
Evelyn smiled and rose to her feet before nodding, “Grab onto the back of the saddle while holding the reins and the horn in your other. Put your left foot in the stirrup and pull up.”  
Myrcella tried but got tangled in her skirt the first time. Soon she managed to mount with a little help from Evelyn.  
“I did it!” Myrcella cried happily, “Uncle Jaime!!!!!”  
Evelyn felt her face slightly pale when Myrcella called over her uncle. She hadn’t spoken to Ser Jaime since she had agreed to the engagement and had barely seen him either.  
Jaime approached, leading his white horse by the reins and looked up at his young niece, “What’s going on Myrcella?”  
“I mounted Ruse like Tommen!” the girl cried, smiling from ear to ear.  
Jaime raised his eyebrows in amusement and flashed his famous cocky smirk, “Indeed? Whatever for?”  
“Evelyn said that the noble who sees herself as greater than her people isn’t a noble at all,” Myrcella remarked, not realizing that she was putting Evelyn at the center of attention which was the one place Evelyn didn’t want to be.  
Jaime glanced over at his future wife with an intrigued look, his smirk fading into a more of a soft grin. “Is that so?”  
Evelyn turned away from Ser Jaime and approached her horse. Jaime watched her as she finished tightening the cinch on her saddle. He had to admit that the outfit she wore really suited her and accented her petite, slender form but he realized that unlike most teenagers her age, her body was more matured and womanlier with defined hips and finely built chest. Of course, the calf length leather skirt of her outfit hid her legs from view, but Jaime guessed that they weren’t skinny either. He had to remind himself that even though Evelyn was young, she was still a woman. Not a child.  
Jaime approached the girl when he saw her prepare to mount. He reached out and placed his hands on her hips, preparing to lift her up but Evelyn stiffened under his grip and he paused. He saw her turn her head just enough so he could see the corner of her eye…. The amber color disappearing to a bright blue fire and her face had darkened in warning.  
Jaime quickly retracted his hands and held them up in surrender, suddenly finding the look on the girl’s face rather frightening and he found few things frightening.  
Evelyn turned away from him and pulled herself into the saddle with ease before gripping the reins in on hand. Jaime noticed that she didn’t sit side-saddled but astride which he found amusing.  
He was going to say something when Evelyn turned and gave the man a pointed look, “I think your horse has discovered the true meaning of freedom Ser Jaime.”  
Jaime turned to see what the girl was referring to and saw that his horse had indeed wandered off. Walking over, he grabbed the horse’s reins and could almost fell Evelyn’s smirk on the back of his head. He mounted up and was about to say something smart back when he saw that Evelyn had bent down on her saddle.  
He saw that she was almost hanging off the saddle, reaching one hand down to her brother Rickon who was reaching up his arms to her. She wrapped her arm around her brother’s waist and lifted him onto the horse behind her with ease, earning another intrigued and impressed smile from Jaime.  
The man watched as the young Stark wrapped his little arms around his sister’s waist before laying his head against her back. Jaime felt a strange stab of jealousy at Rickon’s freedom to be close to his sister while Jaime could barely come within five feet of her without her bristling up like an angry cat.  
Sighing, Jaime rode beside Tommen and Myrcella on the way to the forest but always ensured that Evelyn was in sight. The first half of the hunt went well, and half the hunting party split up. One half stayed behind with the boar and deer that they caught earlier to skin it and get it back to Winterfell while everyone else including the whole royal family, Evelyn, Ned, Rickon, Robb and Bran headed off to catch a few more.  
Everyone had pulled their horses for a stop after they had lost sight of a small herd of deer.  
“It doesn’t seem we will find anything else today,” Ned Stark remarked.   
“All the more reason to return home,” Cersei complained, “My back is killing me.”  
Jaime glanced over at Evelyn who had dismounted from her horse and had carried the sleeping Rickon over to her father who lifted his son into his arms. The knight smiled. Even with her brother falling asleep on her, Evelyn never complained.  
The girl was just about to mount back up when she paused, catching Jaime’s attention. He saw the girl slightly turn her head towards the trees before slowly removing her bow from her back. She loaded an arrow onto her bow and quickly aimed it at the trees. Jaime saw her exhale softly before releasing the arrow. There was a loud thud and the sound of an animal crying out. Robb was off his horse in a moment and heading over to the deer that his sister had just struck. He quickly put it out of its misery.  
“Nice shot Eve!” the boy remarked.  
Evelyn smiled before taking her arrow from him and slipping it into her quiver. She was just going to grab her hunting knife when she looked up at Myrcella. The younger girl had gotten pale when the bloody animal had been dragged into the clearing but as she saw the men begin to skin it, she looked ready to faint.  
“Myrcella, would you like to help me water the horses?” Evelyn asked, hoping to not be out front and embarrass the girl especially in front of Joffrey.  
The girl looked down at Evelyn who had placed a comforting hand on the girl’s arm, and she smiled in relief. “Please.”  
Myrcella grabbed up her reins and began to urge her horse towards Evelyn’s. Evelyn had remounted and was about to lead Myrcella to a nearby spring when a hand touched her shoulder. She turned to see Jaime next to her on his horse.  
“Mind if I accompany you?”  
Evelyn was about to object but knew that a part of the reason Jaime had offered was because two girls alone in the woods away from their hunting party were a target, so she nodded before turning to ride off.  
They found the spring about a hundred meters from the others and the three dismounted allowing the horses to water. Evelyn filled up her water skin before handing it to Myrcella.  
“You feeling better?” she asked the girl.  
Myrcella nodded and drank the water before giving the girl a grateful smile, “Thank you… for not letting everyone find out.”  
Evelyn smiled, “Just because we’re women we are expected to not be as strong as men but when we aren’t as strong as they are in some cases, they find it amusing. Not really fair huh?”  
Myrcella shook her head and smiled at Evelyn, “I’m glad I met you Evelyn. I’ve always wanted a sister.”  
When Jaime returned from tying the horses to a nearby tree, he found both girls talking together and with joyful smiles on their faces, giggling amongst themselves. He smiled. His future wife and his daughter…. If Cersei wasn’t around, he would have wished Evelyn to be Myrcella and Tommen’s mother… even with Cersei around he wanted Evelyn to be the mother of his children. Maybe if Evelyn had appeared in Myrcella, Tommen and Joffrey’s life sooner some things wouldn’t have happened like Joffrey becoming a brat.  
Myrcella suddenly whispered something to Evelyn who nodded before Myrcella walked off. Jaime was about to follow but Evelyn touched his arm to get his attention.  
“She needs a moment.” She explained, “Giving him a pointed look.”  
Jaime nodded, understanding the situation before turning to Evelyn. The girl had approached the horses and was stroking her horse’s face. Suddenly Jaime’s horse butted his head against her arm to get some attention and the moment Evelyn scratched behind his ears, he rubbed his head against her waist causing Evelyn to smile.  
The girl seemed to sense Jaime watching her for she glanced at him with her amber eyes and ducked her head, blushing slightly when she saw him watching her intently with a soft smile.  
Jaime walked over and stroked his horse fondly, “May I ask you something?”  
Evelyn suddenly realized how small she was compared to Jaime. She barely reached his shoulder and she had slight heels on her boots, “What is it?”  
Jaime thought a moment before speaking up, “Why did you choose to become a healer?”  
A bright smile flashed on Evelyn’s face which caught Jaime off guard, “That’s easy!” the girl chirped. “Rickon got terribly sick one time because he got bit by a squirrel that was diseased. I was so afraid that we were going to lose him, and I had no idea what to do…. I felt so helpless not knowing what was happening. I didn’t really care before if I didn’t know something… but not knowing what was happening to my brother was painful…. So, I decided to remove the pain.”  
The girl looked up to see that Jaime was smiling down at her softly, adoration shining in his eyes, “Do you hate me Lady Evelyn?”  
Evelyn cocked her head at this, some black hair flopping into her eyes at the movement but she ignored it, “I don’t believe I particularly hate you….”  
Jaime raised his eyebrows in amusement, “That wasn’t entirely denial.”  
“Fine. I do not hate you…. I just….” Evelyn remarked, “I find it a little aggravating when you’re…”  
“When I’m what?” Jaime inquired, flashing her a cocky smirk.  
“When you’re cocky,” Evelyn replied, her face a deadpan.  
Jaime let out a loud chuckle, trying to not be too loud, “Fair enough Lady Evelyn.”  
Evelyn found herself smiling when suddenly Myrcella returned slightly rushed, “Evelyn! Come quick!”  
Evelyn and Jaime quickly followed until Myrcella came upon one tree where there was a small pile of leaves and sticks at the bottom. Evelyn dropped to her knees, recognizing it as a squirrel nest.   
“It must have fallen from the tree,” Evelyn said, looking up into the tree, “I see where it was before.”  
Reaching down, she carefully parted the hole of the nest and sure enough, there were two baby squirrels asleep inside.  
“Aw!” Myrcella cooed, “What do we do Evelyn?”  
“I’ll put them back up so their mom can find them later,” Evelyn replied.  
“It’s too high,” Jaime pointed out.  
“You know how to climb trees?” Myrcella asked in shock.  
Evelyn smiled and lifting the nest up, handed it to Jaime, “When I get to the first branch, hand it up to me.”  
Before he could object, Evelyn had climbed up to the first branch and was holding her free hand down for the nest. Jaime handed it to her, and the girl scaled the tree like a monkey before placing it in the fork of the tree where it belonged. She climbed down swiftly, a huge smile on her face.  
“Come on!” she chirped, “Let’s head back to the others.”  
Myrcella nodded and the two girls headed off to where the horses were tied up. Jaime watched Evelyn mount and shook his head, completely amazed. He paused just as he was about to mount. Why did he have a pain of guilt in his gut just then? Suddenly he remembered what was going to happen the next day…. It was the day before his wedding…. Great.


	12. Chapter 11

Jaime knew this was wrong. It even felt wrong. It had never felt so wrong before but now, Jaime hated it. Cersei wouldn’t say a word and Jaime was glad of it for he hoped to finish and get out of that cursed tower as soon as possible. It was eating at him and all he wanted to do was go and throw himself off a cliff.   
Every time he moved, Evelyn’s face appeared in his mind and he would shut his eyes to try and not think about how bad it was but that would only make the girl’s face even more real. She was just staring back at him…. No expression…. Her amber eyes a blaze with blue fire, her black hair cascading to her waist and her pouty lips pursed together.  
“Stop!” Cersei cried in horror.  
Jaime almost immediately stopped until he saw what Cersei had noticed. Bran! Jaime jumped to his feet and pulled his pants up as he rushed to the window. Bran was about to climb away from the window, but Jaime grabbed him first.  
“Are you completely mad?” he asked, shocked that the boy was that high with no protection.  
“He’s seen us!” Cersei yelled, horrified.  
“I heard you the first time!” Jaime snapped, turning to look back at Bran.  
Jaime glanced out the window at where Summer was barking up at them way below. He looked back at the little boy and felt a tinge of pain. He knew that if he let Bran know the boy wouldn’t hesitate to tell his parents or even worse… Evelyn. But something inside Jaime told him to not harm the boy who would one day be his brother in law.  
Jaime looked over at Cersei who had composed herself and had a smirk on her face, “If you don’t push him, your dear Evelyn will find out about this.”  
Jaime glared at his sister, “This is your fault for threatening me!” he snapped.  
Just then, their conversation was cut short by a familiar voice.  
“BRAN! Where are you?”   
Jaime felt his heart fall to the sole of his shoes. Evelyn. She was right near the bottom of the tower. He had no choice. Evelyn would hate him if she found out… but it would break her if Bran got hurt.  
Reaching forward, Jaime was about to pull Bran into the tower, hoping he could talk the boy out of telling anyone but when he looked at where the boy was, he saw that Cersei had approached him and had reached out a hand.  
“Cersei no!” Jaime cried, rushing forward to stop his sister from pushing the boy…. But the movement was just the boost that was needed to knock Bran off balance….  
The scream that filled the air was enough to make your blood boil and in Jaime’s case, heart break. It ended short the moment the sound of a body striking the ground could be heard…. Then another shout followed.  
“JON! ROBB! FATHER!”  
Jaime bit on his finger to keep himself from breaking down in sobs. The girl’s voice was urgent and desperate and even though it cracked with pain and suffering, it was strong and demanding at the same time.  
Jaime could hear the voices of Ned Stark, Robb and Jon as the three men rushed to the scene. Jaime grabbed his jacket and strapped it up, so he didn’t look like he had been up to something and turned to Cersei.   
“You breathe a word of this to anyone, and I will forget any love for you and see you disowned.”  
Cersei smirked as she watched her twin walked out of the tower. When Jaime came upon the scene, he tried not to vomit. He had seen plenty of blood and death on the battlefield… but the scene before him had no blood but it was enough to make him pale.  
Bran was laying on the ground, his legs bent all the wrong directions beneath him and his head to the side, his eyes closed. Evelyn was feeling along his neck, arms, shoulders and spine checking for broken bones. Jon and Robb were kneeling on either side of him, Jon stroking his hair and Robb going so pale he looked ready to faint. Ned Stark was calling guards and demanding them to get Catelyn and to keep the other children away.  
“His spine is broken,” Evelyn concluded, “he’s still breathing but he’s in a coma…. We need to get him inside and warm.”  
Robb nodded and was about to lift him when Evelyn stopped him. She grabbed his arms and moved them so that they were flat before helping him slip them under Bran’s back. She then got Jon to do the same with his arms and keep one hand under Bran’s head, the other on the middle of his back to keep his spine from being bent more.  
The two boys carefully lifted their little brother before cautiously carrying him inside, following their father. Jaime saw that while everyone else rushed after the injured Stark, Evelyn stood alone on the spot where her brother had lain not seconds before, staring at the ground. Slowly Jaime approached her and sure enough, he saw her shoulders shaking in quiet sobs and he didn’t hesitate to approach her.  
He contemplated saying her name to let her know he was there or to simply give his condolences, but something came over Jaime. This was his fault. This was all his fault. He knew that simply telling her he was sorry for what happened to her brother would not fix the horrible thing he had done.   
Something in Jaime snapped and he approached the girl, not caring if Ned found them and got angry, not caring if Cersei was watching, not even caring if Evelyn rejected him. He deserved it if she did. Approaching the girl from the side he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a strong squeeze.  
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in a soft voice.  
Evelyn slowly turned her face toward Jaime and the man felt his heart throb. Her face was deathly pale, and her cheeks stained with tears. Her eyes were listless…. Sunken in…. almost dead. Jaime didn’t waste a second and wrapped the girl in a gentle hug, holding her head to his chest with one hand while the other wrapped protectively around her waist.  
He didn’t expect her to return it, but she clung to him desperately and let the tears fall.   
“Why?” she cried into his chest, “Why do things like this have to happen?”  
‘Because if they didn’t you would hate me,’ Jaime thought to himself.  
“I know,” he whispered, stroking her hair softly. “I don’t understand it either.”  
Evelyn quickly retracted her arms and took several steps back from Jaime, “I apologize.”  
Jaime reached out instinctively, about to pull her back but Evelyn had turned away from him and had hurriedly wiped away the tears before turning away from him and following closely behind her father.   
“What have I done?” Jaime whispered.


	13. Chapter 12

Everyone knew there was something off about Jaime at dinner that night. The Stark family had offered to break their evening fast with the royal family every night and even after Bran’s accident, they still did for the sake of hospitality.   
Ned was at the table with Rickon, Arya, Sansa and Robb. Catelyn was refusing to leave Bran’s side; she had also told Jon to not be in the presence of the royal family and Evelyn was nowhere to be found. Jaime had not seen her since she had left him by the tower almost four days ago. He had seen glimpses of her after breakfast and each day she seemed to look worse. She wasn’t eating or sleeping, and it was taking a toll. She was listless and lifeless…. The thing that was keeping her moving was the little string of hope that Bran would wake up.  
Tyrion looked over the rim of his cup at his brother who sat opposite him between Cersei and Robb. It wasn’t that Jaime was uncomfortable for he had been assigned that seat for every evening meal. No, the thing going on with him was something personal and Tyrion knew it.  
Robert excused the idea as Jaime merely being tired or bored. Cersei was slightly puzzled but a part of her told her that most of the things going on in her brother’s head nowadays was surrounding Evelyn Stark.   
Robb seemed to sense Jaime’s discomfort and couldn’t quite place it though it intrigued him. Ned noticed but honestly didn’t care. It never dawned on him that having postponed Evelyn and Jaime’s wedding for a week after the accident would have actually disturbed Jaime. To be honest, Jaime understood the circumstances, but he was slightly impatient. It was just three more days now, but it was weighing on him. Weighing on him that he would soon get the bride of his choice… but at what cost? The possible death of an innocent child?  
“How is your brother?” Myrcella inquired softly, asking Arya.  
The young Stark shook her head, “no change. Evelyn stays with him all day. She says the Peace Drug will wear off in two days and then we’ll know if he’ll make it.”  
“The Peace Drug?” Robert inquired, speaking through mouthfuls.  
“Evelyn told me about it,” Myrcella explained. “It’s a special plant that throws a person into a stabilizing coma that will keep them alive no matter how grave their injury until they can get medical help. It only lasts for about a week though.”  
“Intriguing,” Tyrion mused, “Your daughter is truly talented Lord Stark.”  
Ned smiled slightly at Tyrion. Honestly, Tyrion was the only Lannister that he could tolerate and had a feeling that the dwarf had a soft spot for children. He had seen it when Tyrion was around his niece and youngest nephew… and even around Arya and Rickon. It comforted him to know that when Evelyn married Jaime, at least one of her new family were decent.  
Just then, the door opened and in walked Catelyn with a maid at her elbow, supporting her.  
“Catelyn,” Ned cried, jumping to his feet, “What’s wrong?”  
“She is weak my lord,” the maid explained, “She hasn’t eaten in four days. Lady Evelyn insisted that she come and eat before she collapses.”  
“Where is Evelyn?” Robb asked, dropping his fork.  
The maid smiled, “She is well my lord. She remains with Master Bran. She was the only one who could convince Lady Catelyn to rest. I fear for her my lord. She hasn’t rested or eaten either.”  
The conversation was cut off abruptly by the sound of a chair scraping backwards. All eyes turned to Jaime who had gotten to his feet hastily.  
“If you will excuse me Sire,” he said, bowing to Robert and then to Ned, “Lord Stark.”  
Without further explanation, he departed rather hastily. When he was gone, there was a slight silence before Ned ushered Catelyn to her seat and the meal continued.  
“What was that all about?” Arya whispered to Robb.  
Her brother shrugged and shook his head, “I wouldn’t know.”  
“He has something to do,” Tyrion whispered to the two, low enough so that no one else heard, “Did you see the way he left? He was on a mission.”  
Arya smirked at the Lannister, not really understanding his meaning but Robb did, and he found himself smiling slightly.  
It didn’t take Jaime long to find Bran’s room. He had passed by the door multiple times the past few days, hoping to catch Evelyn on her way in or out of the room but he never dared enter.  
Now, he wasn’t going to let the fear of Catelyn and Ned Stark stop him. Rapping his knuckles on the door, he was greeted by a maid who opened it.  
“My lord,” she said, bowing, “How may I help you?”  
“I would like to see Lady Evelyn,” he said in a whisper.  
“She is busy with master Bran,” the woman explained.  
Jaime nodded, “she needs to rest and eat, or she will collapse.”  
The woman seemed to catch on to what Jaime was trying to do and stepped to the side. Jaime slipped into the room before the woman left.  
“I will bring some food.”  
Jaime nodded in thanks before the woman left, closing the door.  
Turning, Jaime saw a sight that made his heart melt… but at the same time freeze. Evelyn wasn’t seated on the chair by the side of the bed like her mother and father did when they sat with Bran. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, one leg brought up on the bed bent beneath her while the other hung off the bed. Her long black hair was in a loose plait down her back and looked like she hadn’t rebraided it in a few days. Summer, who had refused to leave Bran’s side was lying next to Bran with his head resting on Evelyn’s lap where the girl stroked between his ears with one hand, the other gripping Bran’s limp pale on.  
“Lady Evelyn,” Jaime said in a soft voice so as to not startle the girl.  
Evelyn didn’t even move, either not caring that someone had appeared or having heard Jaime at the door.   
Jaime approached the girl and saw that there were no tears in her eyes and no sign of her having cried in the past few days. It was like she was lifeless.  
“Please Lady Evelyn,” he whispered, deciding to not use her name directly so as to not upset her more than she already was, “You cannot help your brother if you deprive yourself of sleep and nutrition.  
“I’m not hungry,” she whispered.  
This brought a soft smile to his face. Even though Evelyn was a woman, she was still a child in so many ways. No one would be hungry in this situation. Jaime had even lost his own appetite the past few days but had forced himself to eat.  
He sat down in the chair next to where Evelyn sat and reached out gently toward her hand. When his warm hand made contact with her ice cold one, she finally moved… but more like shivered.   
“You’re cold,” he whispered.  
Looking up, he could faintly see the corner of her face even though she kept her eyes glued on Bran, but he could faintly see her face flushed…. But he had a feeling of what it was from. Reaching up, he touched his hand to her forehead, not caring about her reaction. Her reaction startled him to say the least. He had expected her to swat at him or shy away but instead she leant into his touch and closed her eyes.  
Jaime didn’t have time to think on this for he became aware of hot warm her forehead really was compared to his hand…. but her hands were freezing.  
“You have a fever,” he whispered.  
Evelyn just leant into his hand more and Jaime knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose but feeling contact on her hot forehead gave her some comfort. The door of the room opened a crack and the maid poked her head in.  
“I brought some food,” she said before silently placing a tray on the nearby dresser before departing once again.  
“Come,” Jaime whispered to the girl, “You need to….”  
He never finished for at that moment Evelyn slumped backwards. She would have just flopped back onto the bed but having leant into Jaime’s hand, caused her to fall toward the floor. Jaime leapt forward and caught the girl around the shoulders and under the legs before she made contact with the floor.  
“Easy there,” he whispered, brushing her hair out of her eyes to see them shut and her face pale.  
Silently he treaded to the door before glancing back at the sleeping boy. Summer lifted his head to look at Jaime quizzically.  
“I’m sorry,” he whispered before exiting the room with Evelyn in his arms.  
Jon and Robb had been heading back to their rooms when they spied Jaime up ahead. At first, they wondered what he was doing near their rooms until they saw who he was carrying. Both boys’ first instinct was to approach and find out why Jaime was holding their sister until they saw that Evelyn was deathly pale and sound asleep.  
They saw Jaime approach Evelyn’s room before stopping and studying the door thoughtfully. Jon couldn’t help but smirk at Jaime’s predicament of trying to figure out how to open the door with the girl in his arms and the fact that it would be improper to enter his fiancé’s room.  
The two boys approached and caught Jaime’s attention which brought a smirk onto the older man’s face.  
“Need some help Ser Jaime?” Jon inquired.  
Jaime nodded and smiled gratefully as Jon opened the door. Jon entered, holding the door open but Jaime didn’t enter. Instead he turned to Robb and held Evelyn out to him. Robb slowly took his sleeping sister from the man before looking at him surprised.  
Jaime smiled, “I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”  
With that, Jaime bowed and left the two boys and their sister. Once the two boys were in the room and Jon closed the door, Robb huffed.  
“I don’t understand that man.”  
“What do you mean?” Jon inquired, “He was being polite and respectful of Evelyn.”  
“I know… but what he said about the promise,” Robb replied, laying Evelyn down on her bed, “He promised met that he would remain true and loyal to Evelyn and never hurt her…. but he’s taking it a completely different way.”  
Jon shrugged, “I don’t think so. If he disregarded Eve’s privacy, then that would be crossing boundaries and would hurt her and upset you and father. Upsetting you and father would hurt Eve which in return would break his promise.”  
“I didn’t expect him to look ahead that far,” Robb remarked, covering Evelyn up.  
Jon smirked knowingly, “I’m honestly not surprised. When I first met the Kingslayer I didn’t know what to think of him… but I have a feeling that he really does care about Eve.”  
“But why would he?” Robb insisted, “She is such a pure, innocent, kind…. Stubborn person and he could have anyone he wanted and he’s a Lannister…. What about Evelyn made him attracted to her.”  
“You say it like you think Evelyn wouldn’t attract a man,” Jon mused, giving his half-brother a smirk.  
“You know what I mean! I know full well that Evelyn attracts almost every man she meets.” Robb snapped, “Why our sister of all people!?”  
Jon smiled, “Because she is his match. Her purity, innocence, kindness…. Stubbornness, sarcasm and determination are enough to counteract Ser Jaime’s…. attitudes.”  
Robb lifted an eyebrow in skepticism but shrugged, deciding to end the conversation. “You could have used a less ‘nice’ word than Attitudes.”  
“I was trying to be polite!” Jon huffed.  
“He’s not even here Jon.”  
“Walls have ears you know!”   
“That’s just a figure of speech.”  
“Fine, I was trying to be polite in case his guardian angel was present.”  
“The Kingslayer has a guardian angel?”  
“Okay then his demon! Happy?”  
“Maybe.”


	14. Chapter 13

It was the morning of the wedding. Evelyn stood in the middle of her room, having been instructed… more like commanded to not move by her mother while she, Sansa and their handmaidens got the girl ready. Evelyn didn’t quite understand why she couldn’t put the dress on by herself, but Catelyn Stark was persistent.  
When Evelyn had woken up after falling asleep on Jaime, she had been given a much-needed meal which she readily ate. It seemed like her appetite had returned with a good 24 hours of sleep. After that the girl regained the weight, she had drastically lost over the course of four days and was now back to her usual self…. Well for the most part. Bran was still asleep, but the drug had faded and there was no sign of him collapsing which brought hope to the Stark family who felt that he might yet survive…. As for him waking, they were not sure.  
Sansa helped Evelyn step carefully into the skirt of her gown before pulling the rest up and setting to buttoning the back.  
“Is it supposed to be this tight?” Evelyn asked, “and uncomfortable?”  
Catelyn smiled, “Most wedding gowns aren’t the most comfortable child. You won’t be wearing it again after this anyway.”  
“Seems like a waste,” Evelyn huffed, “I wish it had been agreed upon to have a Winterfell wedding.”  
“Then you wouldn’t be wearing this lovely thing!” Sansa squealed.  
Evelyn sighed, “It’s freezing outside Sansa.”  
“You’ll be inside for the ceremony dear,” Catelyn pointed out, pushing her daughter to sit so she could start on her hair.  
Evelyn was silent for the rest of the time, deciding there was no time to go back and convince the royal family to let them have just a simple Winterfell wedding. Of course, it would be extravagant in the eyes of Winterfell but to the royal family, it was already seen as a simple wedding.  
When Catelyn finished Evelyn’s hair, she drew her up and looked her up and down. Sansa was on the verge of tears while Catelyn smiled.  
“You look lovely dear.”  
Evelyn forced herself to smile warmly at her mother before hugging her.  
When Evelyn stepped into the hallway where the rest of the Stark family waited, Evelyn felt her heart stop. Her father was dressed in a dark blue tunic while Robb wore a maroon one. Sansa and Arya were wearing matching dresses, but Sansa wore a dark green dress while Arya’s was dark red, much to the little girl’s chagrin but she didn’t mind when Robb pointed out that it was for Evelyn.  
Rickon looked very smart in a dark grey tunic with his hair brushed to a tame. Catelyn was wearing a dark blue dress to match Ned and Jon wore a dark green tunic. When Evelyn had insisted that Catelyn be civil with Jon that day, she was overjoyed when Catelyn agreed to fix up one of Robb’s outfits for Jon.  
“You look beautiful Evie!” Rickon cried, rushing over to hug his sister.  
Sansa and Catelyn were about to tell him to not mess up Evelyn’s dress, but Evelyn gave them a pointed look and bent down to hug her brother.  
“Thank you Rickon. You look very grown up.”  
The little boy puffed out his chest and smiled, “I told Bran that I would pay attention today so I could tell him all about it when he wakes up!”  
Catelyn hastily covered her mouth to keep from sobbing but Evelyn smiled sweetly at her brother, “Thank you Rickon. I’m sure he would appreciate that. He’s here with us you know, even if he’s not awake.”  
Rickon nodded before stepping back to let Arya and Sansa through. Sansa hugged her sister before Arya buried her face in her sister’s waist, letting tears fall.  
“I’m going to miss you!” Arya sniffled.  
Evelyn chuckled and got down to a crouch to look her in the eye, “What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere. When we go to King’s Landing you’ll be coming too.”  
“But you’ll eventually go somewhere with the Kin…. Ser Jaime. You’ll get all grown up and have children and be a mother…. And I won’t be able to catch up.”  
Evelyn smiled and hugged her sister, “You don’t have to worry about catching up to me Arya. You’ll go far and beyond me. You’ll become a great warrior and go on adventures.”  
Arya nodded before wiping her tears and stepping back. Evelyn then turned to her twin and Jon who both enveloped her in a hug at the same time.  
“You’re growing up little sister,” Robb remarked teasingly.  
“I’m only younger by two hours Robb,” the girl pointed out with a smirk.  
She turned to Jon who looked ready to cry before she kissed his cheek and hugged him, “Don’t tell anyone,” she whispered, “But you’re the best brother in the world.”  
Jon hugged her tightly before releasing her and wiping his eyes, straightening himself.  
Ned finally approached and kissed her forehead before holding out something blue to her, “My little girl all grown up.”  
“Now you’re sounding like Robb,” Evelyn chirped before looking down at the article her father held.  
Ned unfolded the object to reveal a long dark blue cloak. The Stark Cloak. Evelyn turned around as Ned fastened it around her neck before stepping back to admire his daughter.  
“Now you’re ready,” he whispered.  
He held out his arm and Evelyn took it gingerly. Catelyn then shooed the rest of the family into the Great Hall where everyone was waiting. Ned turned to his daughter was Rickon and Arya waited to open the doors.  
“You ready?”  
Evelyn turned to look at her father and smiled, “If the bird waits to be ready, he will never learn to fly.”  
Ned smiled at his daughter before kissing her head and turning to the door. Arya and Rickon pushed the doors open before quietly hurrying back to their mother’s side. All eyes turned to Evelyn and Ned and the hall became deathly silent.  
Luckily, a soft harp and fiddle began to play which seemed to relax Evelyn’s nerves as her father led her through the crowd of people to where Jaime and the septon waited. Jaime’s back was to her so Evelyn got a good look at his attire. He didn’t wear the golden armor he had arrived in but rather a dark red tunic and dark brown pants. He still had his sword on his belt and one hand resting on the hilt but otherwise, he looked a lot different and almost relaxed.  
When Evelyn and Ned reached the alter, Jaime turned, and his blue eyes widened. Evelyn quickly averted her gaze and found Jaime’s shoes rather intriguing until her father stopped walking. She turned to her father who grasped her by the shoulders before kissing her cheek and smiling at her.   
Ned then turned to Jaime and his smile faded. Jaime approached, finally breaking his eyes away from Evelyn to look at Ned.  
“Hurt my daughter and I will personally see to your death,” he warned in a whisper.  
Jaime smirked cockily but nodded solemnly, “I’ll keep that in mind.”  
Ned nodded before taking Evelyn’s hand and holding it out toward Jaime. The knight almost forgot to take it for it suddenly dawned on him that for the next several minutes while he and Evelyn were tied together in matrimony, he would be holding her hand.  
Carefully and gently he took it in his and realized that even though her hand had regained some sort of life, it was still a natural cold and so small that his hand seemed to swallow it.  
Evelyn still kept her eyes down until Jaime gently led her to the steps and she looked up at the septon.   
“My lords, my ladies,” the septon began, “We stand here in the sight of gods and men to witness the union of man and wife. One flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever.”  
Jaime glanced over at Evelyn as the septon began to tie the ribbon around their joined hands. She was now his. No one could take her away from him…. Evelyn Stark was going to be his wife.  
“Let it be known that Jaime of house Lannister and Evelyn of house Stark are one heart, one flesh, one soul. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder.” The septon announced. “In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one for eternity.”  
He unwound the ribbon and Jaime turned to face Evelyn, still holding her hand in his, gently while stroking her hand with his thumb.  
“Look upon each other and say the words….”  
Evelyn opened her mouth to speak but Jaime sensed that she was greatly nervous. He realized that she probably wasn’t used to being the center of attention and he smiled. He began to recite the vows and soon Evelyn joined in, her voice soft and almost a whisper but her eyes staring straight into Jaime’s with blue fire flashing in her amber eyes.  
“Father, smith, warrior, mother, maiden, crone, stranger… I am hers (his) and she (he) is mine. From this day, until the end of my days.”  
Evelyn then turned around and Jaime carefully removed the blue cloak from her back before handing it to a servant nearby. He then took the deep red Lannister cloak and draped it over Evelyn’s shoulders. He had to admit it didn’t suit her as much as the blue one did but it still brought a smile to his face.  
Jaime couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face and failed to notice Evelyn’s face slightly pale, knowing what was going to happen next.  
“With this kiss, I pledge my love,” Jaime whispered before gently slipping one hand behind Evelyn’s head and bringing her face to his.  
He contemplated giving her a full-on kiss full of meaning and passion but with his hand on her cheek he could feel her trembling. In that case, he gently pressed his lips to hers in the most chaste kiss he could manage. After feeling the girl’s warm lips on his, Jaime almost lost all self-control but managed to stop himself by gripping her hand tightly but not too tight that he hurt her. When he pulled back and the audience applauded, Jaime felt Evelyn squeeze his hand back but realized by how much strength she put into it and how it almost stung, that she wasn’t doing it out of comfort or love… but rather to get back at him for him squeezing her hand and he smirked. She was something else… and she was his!  
The banquet was one that Evelyn was not used to. People were drinking, laughing and dancing all over the place. It was much merrier than the banquet that was held as a welcome for the royal family. Evelyn and Jaime sat together at their table, neither speaking.  
Ned and Catelyn were talking with Robert and Cersei while Tyrion was sitting next to Jaime, enjoying the meal and wine.  
“Are you not hungry La…. Evelyn?” Jaime inquired.  
Evelyn shook her head, “Not really….”  
Jaime decided that she wasn’t in the mood to converse, so he set to work talking with some of the members of the Kingsguard who had approached to congratulate him. When he turned back to Evelyn, he saw that Evelyn was talking with Arya and Rickon who had come over to talk with her. A lovely smile was on her face and Jaime knew it to be genuine. How he wished that she would give him a smile that didn’t seem forced.  
Arya and Rickon said their goodnights to their sister for it was past their bedtime before approaching Jaime. He smiled down at the two before crouching down to their level.  
“Ser Jaime,” Rickon said shyly, “Please take care of Evie. Will you promise?”  
Jaime was almost thinking that all the Starks were the same… none of them trusting him but then he realized that Rickon’s tone and the way his eyes were pleading were not one of suspicion but of pure innocence. Rickon had no idea about the bad things Jaime had done… the things he had done to Bran…. To the king he swore to protect…. He was just asking out of concern and love for his sister.  
Jaime smiled and ruffled Rickon’s hair before nodding, “I promise.”  
Rickon smiled, obviously content before heading off. Arya studied the man a moment with a deadpan expression, one so much like Evelyn that Jaime almost smiled. Finally, she nodded politely before running after Rickon.  
Jaime rose to his full height, a smile still on his face to realize that Evelyn was watching him. When he turned to look at her, she quickly looked away, but he saw a blush creep across her face, and he smirked.  
Jaime was beginning to get impatient about three hours later and finally Tyrion noticed, approaching his brother.  
“Better head off before the king decides to go with the Winterfell custom of the bedding ceremony.”  
Jaime hadn’t thought that Robert would do that, but he realized that it was custom. Jaime glanced across the room at where Robert was half drunkenly talking to Ned. Tyrion made his way over before getting Ned’s attention and whispering something to the Stark. Ned then looked at Jaime with a grateful look and nodded, telling Jaime to leave before Robert brought up the ceremony.  
Jaime crossed the room to where Evelyn was sitting at the table, looking tired and not entirely well. He held out his hand to her and she gingerly took it. As they left, Jaime noticed Evelyn’s perplexed expression but when she didn’t say anything, Jaime guessed that she had figured it out.  
Tyrion had been moved to Evelyn’s room so that Jaime could have his room just to him and Evelyn. When they entered the room, Evelyn slipped her hand out of Jaime’s and headed into the bathroom to change.  
Jaime felt his heart racing. He had been so occupied with his feelings that he hadn’t really noticed Evelyn’s nervous and slightly scared behavior. He quickly disposed of his tunic and sword till he was only in a white shirt and his pants and boots. He grabbed the wine tankard on the small table and poured himself a glass.  
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Evelyn slipped back in, wearing a simple white nightgown that wasn’t in the least bit revealing nor thin. Jaime honestly didn’t care for the sight of Evelyn’s hair in long black tresses down her shoulders, her hair free of all pins and restraints had his heart pounding in his chest.  
Evelyn was fidgeting with the ends of her hair which finally snapped Jaime out of his personal thoughts, and he noticed her flushed face…. But also, the fear in her amber eyes.  
“Um….” She said in a low voice, “Would you be angry if I told you something?”  
Jaime’s eyes widened before he set the wine glass down, having drunk none of it before crossing the room to stand before his bride. Gently he reached up and stroked her hair with one hand while smiling softly down at her.  
“You never have to be afraid to speak to me. It is the wife’s duty to trust her husband and the husband’s duty to listen.”  
Evelyn nodded before twisting her hair around her finger, “Erm…It’s not that I hate you Ser Jaime and though I am a little scared…. but….”  
Jaime smiled. He expected her to be afraid. She was pure and innocent after all and the prospect of the consummation was probably foreign and huge to her.   
“But?” he asked softly.  
“I’m…. uh…. how do I say this….” The girl stuttered. “I’m…. going through…. A woman’s…. monthly…. Trial?”  
A smile flashed across Jaime’s face. He understood. He was surprised that she didn’t just say she was bleeding but then again, she wasn’t Cersei. Cersei was the one who would say it with no expression. She was even the one who would ask a teenage girl on her first meeting if she had bled. Evelyn wasn’t Cersei. She actually had emotions and got nervous or anxious.  
Reaching forward, Jaime gently stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead, “I understand. I will wait for as long as you need.”  
Evelyn nodded before looking up at him puzzled. If he knew what a period was, then he would know it only lasted a week.  
Jaime smiled at her perplexity, “I dearly wish to sire children… and for you to grow to love me but one should not shire children except through love. I will wait for as long as you wish.”  
Evelyn bowed her head before whispering, “Thank you….”  
With that, the girl stepped back and grabbing a shawl, she left the room without another word. Jaime had grown so accustomed to the girl leaving without saying anything that he didn’t realize something was missing until about five minutes later.  
“Wait…. Why did she leave?”  
About thirty minutes later he heard a knock at the door and opening it, he found his little brother there with a confused look on his face.  
“What happened? I saw Lady Evelyn head into Bran’s room. Did you scare her?”  
Jaime shook his head, “She’s on her womanly week so I said we would wait… she’s in Bran’s room?”  
Tyrion nodded, “Well. I’ll see you tomorrow brother. Don’t do anything stupid.”  
After his brother left, Jaime approached the bed and downed the glass of wine that he had poured before leaving the room. When he entered Bran’s room, he found Catelyn absent and not a single servant. Quietly he entered the room before closing it. Sure enough, Evelyn was seated on the bed next to Bran with Summer laying on Bran’s other side and Zinzi and Shaggydog at the end of the bed. Evelyn had her back against the headboard and Rickon was sound asleep with his head on her chest and Evelyn’s cheek resting in his curls. Both were sound asleep, and Jaime noticed that while Evelyn’s face looked calm and at peace, there was the trail of where a single tear had fallen down her cheek.  
Smiling fondly at the sight, Jaime approached the bed, gaining the attention of the three wolves.  
“It’s alright,” he whispered to them and right away Summer and Zinzi relaxed, Shaggydog following suit.  
Jaime approached the bed and sat down in the chair. If Evelyn didn’t want to stay with him that was okay, but he was going to stay with her. With that, he fell asleep in the chair. When he roused the next morning, Evelyn was still asleep, so he headed out so as to not startle her when she woke. That was how it went the next two days until they left for Kings Landing.


	15. Chapter 14

Evelyn stood standing next to her horse, staring at Winterfell. Would she ever see it again? Probably not for a while… a few years give or take. She looked over at where Arya and Sansa were seated in the wagon and Jaime was saddling his horse not far away…. He was her family now…. She would wake every morning to him and fall asleep next to him….  
“Eve,” a familiar voice said.  
Evelyn turned to see Jon and Robb standing there. The sight of the two brought tears to her eyes. She might not see Robb for a while, but she may never see Jon again. He was joining the Night’s Watch. Who knows when they would meet again.  
Evelyn brought Robb into a tight hug before letting a few tears fall into his jacket.  
“Take care of Sansa and Arya. Please take care of yourself,” Robb whispered.  
Evelyn nodded before forcing a smile, “Don’t forget to write. I know you’re not the writing type, but it would mean the world.”  
Robb smiled and nodded, “I’ll force myself to write you every week.”  
Evelyn chuckled before turning to Jon. The boy was on the verge of tears, so she brought him into a desperate hug.  
“Don’t do anything stupid. Stay strong… be you,” she whispered in his ear.  
Jon nodded and smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes. Evelyn brought her fist up and Jon smiled, giving her a fist bump.  
“I’ll miss you two knuckleheads. Robb…. If Bran wakes up…. Tell him I miss him and tell him to write immediately.”  
Robb nodded, “I will.”  
The girl then felt two little arms around her legs and saw Rickon bury his face in her waist. Evelyn got down on her knees and wrapped her little brother in a tight hug.  
“Stay safe okay?” she whispered, “Listen to Robb and mother. Keep an eye on Bran for me.”  
Rickon nodded against her shoulder before sniffling, “I love you Evie!”  
This brought a smile to her face before she ruffled his hair and smiled, “I love you too little wolf.”  
With that she mounted up and turned to look at her brothers. Gosh she was going to miss them!  
She sensed a presence behind her and turned to see Jaime also on his horse, a smile on his face.  
“Are you alright?” he asked.  
Evelyn nodded, “I will be.”  
Jaime smiled before reaching over to grip her hand, “You’ll see them again… all of them.”  
The girl found herself smiling at those words, but she didn’t know whether to believe them or not.  
*******  
It had been two very long weeks they had been on the road. It seemed that it would never end and for Jaime, it was pure torture. Evelyn wouldn’t come to bed until Arya was asleep and that was sometimes not until midnight for Arya would have Evelyn sing her a song to get her to sleep and sometimes three! Evelyn would then return to the tent that she shared with Jaime and would change silently behind a curtain before coming to bed and turning with her back to Jaime.   
Jaime had forced himself to not draw her into a hug every time he saw her pull the sheets over her shoulder. He would occupy himself petting Zinzi who had become tolerant of him until he got tired and fell asleep himself. In the morning Evelyn was always up before him having walked around camp, brushed her horse and packed up most of her things already. Jaime thought he was an early riser… but not anymore.  
One particular evening Jaime was trying to build up the courage to ask Sansa to give Evelyn a break and put Arya to bed so he could at least talk with Evelyn before she fell asleep. He was pacing back and forth in front of his tent, sometimes walking all the way around the tent which earned a puzzled look from Tyrion who was sitting outside his own tent nearby, reading.  
“You’re like a caged lion,” Tyrion mused, not trying to crack a joke.  
“They’ve been gone a while,” Jaime admitted, indicating the girls. Arya and Sansa had been gone for hours and Evelyn had been with Myrcella sewing the whole time. Jaime contemplated interrupting the sewing session, but he knew how much it meant to Myrcella and he couldn’t take that away from her. Evelyn was just what Myrcella needed.  
“Ser Jaime,” Tyrion’s squire Podrick panted as he approached. “Lord Tyrion…. You are both needed in the King’s tent.”  
“What’s wrong lad?” Tyrion asked, getting up.  
“Lady Arya’s wolf attacked Prince Joffrey.”  
Tyrion turned to Jaime, only to see that his brother had already run towards Robert’s tent. Jaime knew what that meant. Cersei would see the wolf killed…. And not only would it hurt Arya, but it would hurt Evelyn. Evelyn hated to see innocent people killed or harmed and most of all she hated seeing her family hurt.  
When Jaime entered the tent, Arya and Sansa were yelling at each other while Ned Stark was trying to break them up.  
“She’s as wild as the beast,” Cersei hissed.  
“Now calm down!” Robert bellowed, “These are children! Children fight all the time. Ned, see that your daughter is punished, and I will do the same.”  
Ned bowed, “With pleasure sire.”  
“What about the dog?” Cersei hissed.  
Jaime cringed. Here it comes. He scanned the crowd but there was no sign of Evelyn.  
“I almost forgot about the beast,” Robert remarked thoughtfully.  
“She ran off,” Cersei hissed, “But we have two.”  
Sansa’s voice split through the voices at that, “Lady didn’t hurt anyone!”  
“Not Lady!” Arya cried, suddenly forgetting her anger at Sansa and fearing for the wolf’s life.  
“The wolf is innocent sire,” Ned added. “You would harm an innocent creature?”  
Robert rolled his eyes, losing his patience on such a childish issue, “Just do it will you….”  
“You cannot,” a calm voice spoke out.  
All eyes turned to the speaker and Jaime felt his heart relax. It was Evelyn. She stood behind her family and now as her family parted, she stood before the king with her hands at her sides, her head high and a calm look on her face.  
“Why not?” Cersei hissed, forcing herself to not call Evelyn something that would get her in trouble with Jaime.  
Evelyn smiled coldly at Cersei, “Because I take Lady under my protection.”  
“How will that save the wolf?” Robert inquired, rather intrigued by what Evelyn had to say.  
“Zinzi is my child just as Lady is Sansa’s and Nymeria is Arya’s. As such, Zinzi is a Lannister just as I am a Lannister. In that case, I take Lady under my protection. You wouldn’t kill a Lannister would you sire?”  
Robert’s eyes widened at this. Cersei glared at Evelyn, hating the fact that the girl was smart enough to use her new house to her advantage. However, Jaime was grinning ridiculously from ear to ear. Evelyn admitted she was a Lannister…. And almost sounded happy about it!  
“Well….” Robert mused.  
“If your child attacked a man because the man angered or frightened him, you wouldn’t execute your son, would you?” Evelyn pushed.  
Cersei was about to yell at Evelyn, but Robert rose to his feet and approached Evelyn. Jaime was prepared to push through the crowd, but he saw the smile on Robert’s face.  
“You are truly wise child,” Robert said fondly, patting the girl’s shoulder, “If you promise that this won’t happen again…”  
Evelyn nodded which made Robert chuckle, “Very well. The dog will be spared… but if the wolf that attacked returns, we will have to kill it.”  
With that, everyone began to disperse, and Jaime approached the Starks as Evelyn approached her sisters.  
“Thank you, Evelyn!” Sansa cried, hugging her sister.  
“Evelyn, what about Nymeria?” Arya cried.  
Evelyn knelt down in front of Arya and gripped her shoulders, “We cannot do anything to save Nymeria from the king Arya. It is safest for her in the woods. It would be better if she remained there.”  
Arya nodded and bowed her head. Evelyn smiled and hugged her sister.  
“You can play with Zinzi whenever you like,” the girl remarked.  
“But what if Zinzi….” Arya started but Evelyn shook her head.  
“I’ll make sure she won’t.”  
Arya smiled and hugged her sister back before Ned escorted the two girls to their tent for the night. Evelyn looked up then and saw Jaime standing there, an adoring smile on his face. The girl smiled back, and Jaime realized with shock that it was genuine.  
***********  
Jaime wasn’t prepared when Evelyn entered the tent much earlier than usual. It was barely eight in the evening when she returned with both Lady and Zinzi at her heels. Jaime was sitting on the edge of the bed, his boots still on as well as his pants and shirt.  
“Arya fell asleep fast tonight,” Evelyne explained, slipping her shawl off her shoulders and tiptoeing across the tent to the bed. “I think everything tired her out.”  
Jaime nodded as he watched Evelyn intensely as she sat on her side of the bed and pulled on a pair of socks. She climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged near the end where Zinzi was already curled up. She patted the bed next to Zinzi and called to Lady. The wolf hesitated before she daintily jumped up and laid down next to her sister.  
Evelyn smiled and stroked Lady’s hair. “I know this is different for you but you cannot stay with Sansa now. Arya and Sansa are safe. I promise.”  
The wolf seemed to relax at those words and laid her head down between her paws, drifting off to sleep.   
“You weren’t joking earlier,” Jaime mused.  
Evelyn turned to see that Jaime was sitting with his back against the pillows, watching her.  
“You said that Zinzi is like your child. I believe it.”  
Evelyn smiled and stroked Zinzi and Lady before scuttling under the sheets to get warm and sitting about an arm’s length from Jaime, her back to the pillows.  
“The prospect of having a family always intrigued me since I was little,” Evelyn explained. “I guess coming from a large family was part of it… my mother says that it’s part of my genes. I just naturally want to mother children just like she did.”  
Jaime smiled, “That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Very few people now value life.”  
Evelyn nodded before laying her head back on the pillows and looking up at the top of the tent.  
Jaime watched her out of the corner of his eye for a moment before turning onto his side, resting his head against his hand to prop him up.  
“How come you were afraid when your brother got hurt, but you showed no fear when the king and my sister threatened the wolf?” he inquired.  
Evelyn smiled but didn’t turn to look at him, “I was afraid. I was terrified actually. When Bran got hurt… I was more afraid and couldn’t hide my fear because it had already happened…. I couldn’t prevent his fall. However, with Lady… I was afraid but was able to hide it because it hadn’t happened yet… and I had a chance at preventing it.”  
Jaime smiled and reached over, touching her hand with his but not placing his over hers, “How come you are not afraid of the king or Cersei?”  
The girl was silent for a while before she turned and looked at him, her eyes earnest and shining gold, “I am not afraid of them…. I’m afraid for them.”  
Jaime cocked his head to the side in perplexity which brought a smile to the girl’s face.  
“They have such a strong power that they could do so much good in this world…. But they could also do so much evil. It could either help them one day, or it could bring them down,” Evelyn explained. “That is why I am afraid.”  
“But you do not even like the king or my sister. Why would you be afraid for them?”  
The girl smiled, “I don’t wish ill on anyone… but I am also afraid of the people they would bring down with them. Myrcella, Tommen, Joffrey, your brother…. You. I can see the love that you all share as a family and I respect it. Just as I love my brothers, my sisters and my parents, you and Tyrion love your nephews and niece and your sister and each other. In the same way they love you back. I do not wish ruin on any family. No person is perfect so to hate a person who has made mistakes is putting oneself above another when really, we are just as guilty. You do not have to love someone Ser Jaime to care about them.”  
Jaime slowly propped himself up on his elbow so he could look down at her better, “Do you care about me?”  
Evelyn studied him a moment, her golden eyes softening at the desperation and even fear in his blue eyes.   
“I believe I do,” she replied softly, smiling.  
Jaime laid down on his side before wrapping his arm around Evelyn and pulling her flush against him with her back to his chest. He nestled his face in her hair, not caring if she punched him in return.  
“I can live with that.”  
Evelyn chuckled softly before closing her eyes to sleep. Just as she was dozing off, Jaime’s voice whispered in her hair.  
“Do you think you could grow to love me?”  
She knew that Jaime wasn’t expecting an answer, the man believing she was already asleep but she smiled at the words and gently held his hands close to her in her sleep.  
‘I think it very likely.’


	16. Chapter 15

“Keep your feet moving,” Jaime called.  
Evelyn and Jaime were watching Tommen and Podrick spar together. They had arrived in King’s Landing the day before and it had been several weeks since the incident with Nymeria and Lady. Since then, Evelyn has come back to the tent earlier and she would talk with Jaime for a while before they would both fall asleep, Jaime holding her in his sleep.   
Tommen obeyed his uncle and began to move his feet more, making it easier for him to block a strike or strike his own. Evelyn smiled at the boy and leant her head against Jaime’s shoulder as she sat with him on the steps near the courtyard.   
Jaime didn’t move but a huge grin lit up his face and he found it difficult to pay attention to his nephew. However, it was short lived for Myrcella’s voice caught Evelyn’s attention.  
“Evelyn!” The girl cried, rushing toward her, “look what I found!”  
Evelyn got up and walked over to the girl who was holding out her cupped hands to Evelyn. The girl looked down and saw that Myrcella had found a baby bird. It was fully feathered and probably fledged but looked injured.  
“Poor thing,” Myrcella said, “Her mother was dead… a racoon found her.”  
Evelyn nodded and took the bird into her hands, “He isn’t hurt bad. Just a bruised wing. Get him comfortable, make sure he is warm and can get to water.”  
“What about food?” Myrcella asked, “What if he wont eat?”  
The girl was right. Birds usually didn’t eat the things that people gave them, so she thought, “crumble some dry bread for him. If he doesn’t eat it, let me know. I might have something.”  
Myrcella nodded and took the bird carefully in her hands before Evelyn was called again.  
“Evie!” Tommen yelled, “Come spar with me!”  
Evelyn smiled. After Tommen had heard Arya call her Evie, he had asked if he could call her that as well and the girl had allowed it. It reminded her of Rickon and Bran and honestly, she found herself liking it. The girl headed over to the courtyard and Podrick held out the blunted practice sword to her. Evelyn took it and swung it a few times, testing the balance.  
While she was spinning it in her hand, Tommen made a shot at her, but Evelyn lifted the sword and blacked it without even flinching. A smirk appeared on her face before she pushed against the blow, pushing Tommen back.  
“So that’s how you’re going to play huh?”  
Evelyn made a side swipe at Tommen, but he managed to block it before Evelyn laid another blow on his other side, Tommen just barely blocking that one. Podrick, Jaime and Tyrion were watching the two lay blows with amused looks on their faces.  
Tommen laid a downward upper body blow on Evelyn and with Tommen standing about the same height as Evelyn, if not slightly taller, it looked like Tommen had the upper hand. Evelyn however smiled and lifted her right arm up to block the blow, using her arm to stop the sword by pressing her arm against the flat of the blade and used her left hand to point the sword at Tommen’s neck.  
“I think I win,” she smirked.  
Tommen’s mouth was hanging so low he would have caught flies, but Evelyn stepped back and ruffled his hair playfully with a chuckle before returning the sword to Podrick. She headed off back toward her room in search of Myrcella when she felt someone grab her hand and pull her off in another direction. Evelyn was surprised but relieved when she saw that it was Jaime who was almost dragging her toward the pigeon aviary.  
When they got inside, Jaime closed the door and turned to look at her, his eyes slightly confused and excited while he seemed at a loss for words.  
“Where did you learn that move?” he asked in a shaky voice.  
Evelyn wasn’t expecting that but answered all the same, “I learnt it when I was a child from a traveling knight. I met him at a small town a few miles from Winterfell almost ten years ago. He gave me my first sword and taught me that move. He said it was…”  
The girl never got to finish for Jaime interrupted then and finished what she was going to say, “It was for the better of the world that someone who wanted the good for people should know how to fight for the good.”  
Evelyn stared at him with wide amber eyes and her mouth slightly agape, “How did you know?”  
Jaime smiled but didn’t answer. He just looked at her…. calm blue eyes…. A soft smile…. Then Evelyn saw it. That earnest look…. she had seen it before…. Ten years ago.  
Flashback 10 years prior:  
Evelyn and Robb were looking for Jon. They had come to the town to get some cowhides and hatchet handles by order of their father. Ned gave them the freedom to visit the town on small errands to give them freedom, a sense of responsibility and of freedom.  
“Where is he?” Robb insisted, shifting the armful of hatchet handles in his arms. “It was just five handles. Where could he have gone?”  
Evelyn stopped and turned around in the middle of the street, looking for any sign of the boy, “What happened last time we came here? Remember?”  
Robb thought a moment before nodding, “Right…. he got into a fight. He said he wouldn’t again though.”  
“Well that doesn’t mean that he isn’t in a fight…. He might have not started this one,” the girl pointed out, pushing her unruly black hair out of her eyes.  
Almost as if by magic, the twins became aware of the sound of shouts and groans coming from a nearby alley. The two didn’t waste any time rushing over and sure enough, there was their brother. Jon was on the ground… again with three boys towering over him and laying heavy kicks all over his body.  
“Hey!” Evelyn yelled, jumping forward and grabbing the collar of one boy, “Get away from my brother!”  
With that she threw the boy aside so hard that he tripped and fell over. She then tripped the next one by swinging her legs out and pulling his legs out from under him before throwing herself against the last boy.  
“Hey, you vixen get off me!” the boy yelled.  
The other two boys had regained themselves and had begun to approach the girl, but Robb dropped his bundle and jumped at one, pinning him to the wall.  
“Don’t you touch my sister,” he growled.  
Jon was still on the ground and the third boy was going for Evelyn when a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his collar, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing.  
“Don’t you know it’s not chivalrous to attack a lady?” a man’s voice asked.  
Evelyn froze just as she was about to punch the boy and turned to look at the speaker. It was a young man… a knight who looked to be in his early twenties. Evelyn had to admit that he was rather good looking with sun blond straight hair that partially fell in his face when he tilted his head forward, sky blue eyes and a cocky smirk. He was clean shave with sharp features, defined jaw and straight nose.   
The stranger reached over and grabbed the other boy from Robb’s grip before looking them both in the eyes, “Why don’t you run along home? Hm?”  
The two boys nodded vigorously before running out of the alley. The knight turned to Evelyn and smiled. He approached the girl and held out his hand to her.  
“I think you got the message through little lady.”  
Evelyn took his hand as he pulled her to her feet and the boy she had been totally ran off without hesitation. Evelyn rushed over to Jon and carefully helped him up before gingerly touching his bruised eye and bloody lip.  
“Oh Jon, not again. How do you always find trouble when we leave you alone?” Evelyn asked him, reaching into her bag for a balm to put on his lip.  
Jon shook his lip as Evelyn applied the clear balm to his busted lip, “I’m sorry Evie. They were just being mean.”  
“Then ignore them,” Robb observed.  
“I did,” Jon retorted. “But there were three of them and only one of me.”  
Evelyn nodded before handing him a compress to put on his eye which would help with the bruising and the swelling, “It was self-defense Jon. It wasn’t your fault. I should not have left you alone.”  
“You cannot always take care of me Evie,” Jon pointed out. “I have to be able to be on my own without getting hurt.”  
“And that will be the day when this world is a better place Jon,” Evelyn pointed out, closing up her bag. “At least for now, stay close to me.”  
Jon nodded, smiling sheepishly at his sister. Evelyn smiled back at him before turning to look at the knight who had been watching the scene with an amused smile on his face, one hand on his sword hilt.  
Evelyn left her brothers and approached the man before curtsying rather clumsily, “Thank you for helping my brother Ser.”  
The knight smiled before crouching down to her level. Evelyn felt her face heat up. She might have only been seven, going on eight and rather petite for her age but she had to admit that the man was rather good looking and even though he was young for a knight, he seemed to be very talented.  
“You know how to handle yourself little Lady,” he said with a smirk, “Do you enjoy beating up bullies?”  
“They aren’t bullies unless they are doing something, they shouldn’t Ser,” Evelyn replied strongly with her head held high with confidence. “Otherwise they are not bullies. I only beat up bullies.”  
The soldier smirked before reaching to his belt and drawing something out. It was a small sword, probably only about two feet long and rather thin and light. He had considered giving it to Joffrey but on his way back he had realized that a sword was the last thing his little nephew needed and was planning on keeping it for something else.  
“Here,” he said, holding it out to her.  
Evelyn took the sword slowly and carefully and the knight realized that she was not daunted by the weight and obviously knew how to hold it correctly.  
“Have you ever used a sword before?” he asked.  
The girl shook her head as she looked at him with wide amber eyes.  
The man smiled, “I’m glad. It is not for the faint of heart. This is blunt so you won’t be able to cut anyone, but you can use it to knock someone if they try to hurt you. Just don’t go cracking sculls okay?”  
Evelyn nodded vigorously with a huge smile on her face, “Thank you ser!”  
The man smiled before shifting on his feet, “Here, draw it out. I want to show you something.”  
Evelyn obeyed and drew the little sword out, placing the sheath against the wall of the alley. The man, still crouching, reached out and adjusted her hands on the hilt till they were situated and then held her hands in one while he moved her feet to a stronger stance.  
“Always have a strong stance,” he told her. “That way people cannot push you over so easily. Now, if someone goes for your head, block it with one arm,” he said, holding her left arm up and showing her how to block one of his arms.   
“Now with your sword arm, you can get them while they’re distracted,” he said, grabbing her right hand and poking the tip against his chest to show her.  
Evelyn’s eyes widened and she quickly drew the sword back away from the knight’s chest, afraid she had hurt him. She rushed forward and touched his chest where the sword had touched him but relaxed when she saw not even a scratch. The knight chuckled, smirking down at her.  
Evelyn felt her cheeks heat up before she ducked her head to hide her blush, “Thank you ser….”  
“Of course little lady,” he said. “My name is Jaime.”  
The little girl walked over to him and using his knee as a boost, she reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Ser Jaime.”  
End of Flashback:  
“You had better wipe that smirk off your face before I decide to forget all about that,” Evelyn remarked, glaring at her husband who had his arms crossed triumphantly, a cocky grin on his face.  
Jaime shrugged, “It’s cute.”  
“It’s embarrassing!” Evelyn cried, throwing her arms up in the air, “And you are not helping!”  
“Really?” Jaime inquired, “What part is embarrassing? You beating that kid up or your form of thanks.”  
Evelyn turned back to Jaime, her eyes flashing in warning. Jaime lifted his hands in innocence.  
“It’s embarrassing that I allowed my seven-year-old self to be enchanted by a golden-haired knight with sky blue eyes and handsome smirk.”  
Jaime’s eyebrows shot up and his grin seemed to grow if that was possible, “you know what color my eyes are?”  
“Naturally!” Evelyn cried, still not realizing that the things she was saying were things she would really say unless she was so angry, she was ranting blindly. “You never like to sleep in cotton because it’s itchy, you’re right-handed and hate fighting with your left hand, you never drink wine at breakfast or lunch, you only snore at night if you fall asleep before ten and your shirts are size 8.” [I know nothing about men’s clothes and sizes so I just made it up. Imagine that it’s Game of Thrones measurements;)]  
Evelyn froze in her ranting, having realized that she basically told Jaime everything she would never ever tell him. She looked over at him to see that he had the cockiest smirk on his face, “You know my shirt size?”  
“We…. well….” Evelyn stuttered. “y…you know… I…. I help f…. fold your c…clothes… a….and….”  
Jaime’s smile softened before he relieved her of her embarrassment, “It’s okay, I happen to know that you call out to your first pet rabbit in your sleep.”  
Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock, “Freaks?”  
“He had a name?” Jaime inquired, “You just called it ‘my bunny’.”  
“Oh!” Evelyn groaned, burying her face in her hands, “This is so embarrassing!”  
Jaime smiled and wrapped the girl in a hug from behind, pressing his nose into her hair and taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent.  
“You also hug your pillow in your sleep,” Jaime pointed out with a flash of mischief in his eyes.  
“I do not!” Evelyn retorted.  
“Apparently you think it’s me,” Jaime observed, “Cause you whisper my name when you hug it. Now, unless the pillow happens to be named Jaime too and is enough to make you smile, then you have dreams about….”  
“Oh you’re so going to get it!” Evelyn roared, tearing out of his arms before charging at him.  
Jaime laughed before bolting out of the aviary, Evelyn hot on his heels.   
Little did they know that a pair of blue eyes was watching them from a window on a higher level.


	17. Chapter 16

Jaime smiled as he watched Evelyn run up and down the beach with Lady and Zinzi on her heels. The two wolves would run past her whenever she came to a stop and would tumble and roll together, obviously having no brakes. Evelyn would laugh and crouch down to their level, letting them come and rub their noses against her before she would run back to Jaime.  
“Enjoying yourself?” Jaime asked, smiling as Evelyn sprinted over back to him, her cheeks flushed from running but a huge smile on her face and her amber eyes shining.  
“It’s so beautiful,” she told him, spinning around, admiring the ocean, “I had never seen the ocean until we came here.”  
“Seriously?” Jaime inquired, his eyes widening, “And I thought I needed to see the world.”  
Evelyn playfully socked his arm, “Hey!”  
Jaime chuckled before wrapping her in a hug from behind and inhaled her scent, “Are you happy here?”  
Evelyn hugged his arms to her chest and turned her head to look at him sideways, “Why? Is something wrong?”  
“No…” Jaime admitted, taking her hands in his, “It’s just that what you told Jon about the evil of the world…. And how you’re afraid of the power have…. I just… I don’t want you to be unhappy with me.”  
Evelyn gently pulled away from Jaime before turning to face him and taking his hands, nestled them beneath her chin, “Yes I’m happy.”  
She slowly lifted her eyes to see the widest grin on Jaime’s face which caused her to laugh. He looked like a little schoolboy looking at her with wide, happy eyes.   
Chuckling, the girl released his hands before running off toward the water and going ankle deep. Zinzi and Lady followed her, barking and splashing in the water. Jaime laughed at the sight before he cut himself off. There was something… eerie. There was not a noise other than Evelyn and the wolves in the water and that was what was worrying him. It was too quiet…. But something was causing his hair to stand up on the back of his neck and the chills to hit his spine…. Something was wrong.  
Jaime carefully wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword and removed it slightly from the sheath. Did he imagine things, or did he hear footsteps?   
“Evelyn!” Jaime called, forcing his voice to not sound alarmed.  
The girl didn’t hear him for the waves were crashing too loudly and the wolves were still barking. Jaime glanced over his shoulder and squinted his eyes. He was sure he saw something reflect the sunlight.  
“EVELYN!” he yelled, sprinting toward the girl who had begun to come out of the water.  
Evelyn looked up and saw Jaime sprinting at her faster than she had ever seen him run.  
“Get down!” He yelled.  
The girl couldn’t register what he was saying for his voice was muffled. “What’s wrong?”  
She didn’t get a reply except Jaime wrapping his arms around her and almost knocking her over…. Then his body became a dead weight.   
“Jaime?” she whispered, realizing that he was leaning greatly on her and not standing up, “Jaime!”  
The man’s body slipped from her arms and splashed into the shallow water…. The water turning red.  
“JAIME!” Evelyn screamed, dropping to her knees in the water and turning him onto his stomach… there was an arrow in his back!  
“ZINZI! LADY! Get him!”  
The wolves didn’t need further commands, having already charged out of the water and leapt into the thicket.   
“Jaime,” Evelyn cried, carefully pulling the arrow out before turning him onto his back, cradling his upper body in her lap, “Jaime, stay with me! Stay with me please!”  
She didn’t realize tears were falling till they began to triple between her lips and off her chin, “Jaime….”  
“EVELYN!” A voice yelled from the shore, causing the girl to look up.  
Tyrion, Ned and Podrick were sprinting in his direction, Lady hot on their heels having alerted them to the situation.  
Ned reached Evelyn first and was about to ask her if she was already when he saw the tears pouring down his daughter’s face and how she was clutching Jaime’s limp head in her lap.  
“What happened?” He asked, pulling Jaime out of her lap.  
“No! Don’t touch him!” She cried, about to tear Jaime out of Ned’s arms when Podrick and Tyrion gently held her back. “He got shot in the back!”  
“It’s alright Evelyn,” Tyrion told her, patting her shoulder, “We will take care of him. My brother is a hard one. Little can kill him.”  
Evelyn quickly wiped her eyes and sniffled before getting to her feet, finding that they were turning to jelly but shaking it off. She couldn’t faint or collapse now. She needed to make sure Jaime was going to be okay.  
“Come on,” Tyrion said, taking her hand and leading her out of the water after Ned, “we need to get him to the physician.”  
Evelyn was about to comply when she froze in her tracks, her face going deathly pale, “He…. He never knew….”  
Tyrion looked up at her puzzled when he saw that her lip was trembling, “I never told him….”  
******** (2 days later)  
Ned woke from his dead sleep, hearing a knock at the door. Rising from his bed, he found Sansa and Arya standing there, both dressed in their nightgowns with shawls around their shoulders.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked.  
“It’s Evelyn,” Sansa explained.  
“She won’t sleep or eat,” Arya added. “It’s like when Bran got hurt…. She won’t even speak.”  
Ned nodded before grabbing his jacket and following his two daughters. When they came upon the hallway where Jaime and Evelyn’s room was, he found Evelyn sitting outside the room. She was staring at the other side of the hall… listless with tears slowly trickling down her cheeks…. Silent sobs.   
“Evelyn child,” Ned said, rushing to her side and taking her hand, “You need to rest sweetheart. You cannot help him if you are…”  
“Don’t say it,” Evelyn replied coldly. “Just don’t…. if you do…. That’s just what he said about Bran….”  
“Well he was right,” Ned remarked, wrapping her in a hug, cradling her head against his shoulder. “I know you want to be there for him, but you’ll collapse if you don’t take care of yourself and you will not be able to be there for him.”  
“If I sleep, I won’t be there for him either,” Evelyn pointed out stubbornly.  
Ned sighed and mentally cursed himself for letting his stubbornness rub off on his children.  
Suddenly, the door of the room opened, and the physician finally exited. Evelyn jumped to her feet, wiping her face dry with her sleeve.  
“Is he alright?” she asked.  
“The extraction went well,” the physician replied. “There was some shrapnel from the arrowhead, but we got it all. Luckily it was not poisoned. It will take two or three weeks for his wound to fully heal… and his wrist will heal in a few days.”  
“His wrist?” both Ned and Evelyn asked.  
“The arrow grazed his wrist on its way,” the physician explained. “It’s nothing major but it almost touched the bone.”  
“Thank you,” Evelyn whispered, her voice breaking. “May I see him?”  
The physician nodded before stepping to the side and holding the door open for her. Evelyn slowly slipped into the room and approached the bed so slowly that Ned thought she was going to collapse.  
Jaime was lying on his stomach, his shirt gone with bandages covering his back. His forehead was sweating and his hair a mess. His face was slightly soiled…. His cheeks sunken and his eyes closed. Those beautiful sky-blue eyes were closed….  
Evelyn sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully took his bandaged hand in both of hers, bringing it up to her mouth and gently kissing it, “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t acted so childish and oblivious you might be awake right now…. Not dying…”  
The girl could not finish what she was going to say for the door flew open and Cersei burst in, Tyrion and Tywin hot on her heels.  
“Get away from him minx!” Cersei yelled, about to yank the girl away from Jaime but Tywin grabbed her wrist and Tyrion spoke up.  
“Cersei! She has every right to be here. Probably more so than we do.”  
Cersei glared at her brother and wrenched out of her father’s grip, “It’s her fault that Jaime is even here!”  
“That is enough Cersei,” Tywin snapped, causing the girl to finally shut up. “Give your condolences then let us leave Jaime in the hands of his wife.”  
Cersei tossed her head before shooting Evelyn a death glare. When they finally left, Evelyn drifted off to sleep, lying next to Jaime with his injured hand tucked against her chest and tears seeping from her eyes. Needless to say, she did not get a lot of sleep that night.


	18. Chapter 17

“That’s all you got out of him?” Evelyn insisted.  
The Hound bowed his head. The large man had grown fond of the three Stark girls and he felt slightly guilty that when he had interrogated Jaime’s attacker, he got very little out of him. Zinzi had managed to tackle the man and deliver him to the guards who immediately locked him up. All the Hound managed to squeeze out of him was that his name was Yorgin White, and he was hired.  
“But why would be hired to kill Jaime?” Evelyn asked. “It’s been years since he became the Kingslayer.”  
The Hound nodded, “He wasn’t after the Kingslayer ma’am.”  
Evelyn frowned, “What are you talking about?”  
Silence passed between the two before the Hound spoke, “He was after you my lady. The only reason why your husband got injured was because he blocked the shot.”  
“So… it really was my fault,” Evelyn whispered, barely audible but the Hound heard.  
Reaching forward, he gently gripped her shoulders. “It was not your fault my lady. The Kingslayer blocked the strike because he cares about you and did not want you to be hurt. I promise I will try harder to get more out of the man. I’ll try to find out who hired him and where he comes from. For now, you must pray that your husband will wake up.”  
“What if it ends up killing him… and he dies before even waking up?” Evelyn asked, feeling all life leave her body.  
“The Kingslayer is a strong man ma’am,” The Hound replied. “If he is still alive now, he’ll live for many more years.”  
Evelyn nodded before silently leaving the prison, blindly walking. When she finally looked up, she found that she had come outside to the practice ring. There were several squires and knights practicing together. Evelyn headed to her room to grab her training clothes. Maybe sparring for a while would allow her to let some anxiety and anger out.  
She paused after changing to see that Jaime had been laid on his back. The physician said that he should alter being on his back and stomach so as to not let him get stiff. The girl slowly approached him, looking down upon his peaceful face. During the many hours she had stayed by his side, she had managed to wash his face and comb through his hair, cleaning it as much as possible. She ran her fingers through his thick hair, traced his jawline with her finger and then back up into his hair.  
“You promised me that nothing would happen. When I told you, I was afraid of what could happen to you… you promised. Then why are you the one in a coma when it should be me?”  
Slowly bending down, she planted a kiss on his forehead, letting her lips linger there a moment before slowly standing up straight.  
With a grunt of fury, the girl tore about the room changing into a more flexible outfit. When she finished, she grabbed her double swords and headed out the door with determination in her stride.  
Arya, who had discovered boredom at its greatest when Sansa went off to flounce about with Joffrey, had gone on a walk to the stables. She had just arrived when she spied Zinzi and Lady laying near the entrance of the stables, their heads between their paws but their eyes open.  
“Hey girls,” the girl said, crouching down to pet them. “Where is Evelyn?”  
The two wolves turned their eyes toward the hanger where the firewood was kept. Sure enough, Arya could hear her older sister hacking away at the poor piles of logs.   
“Oh dear,” Arya whispered. “She’s not done that since we left home… unless she’s upset. What happened?”  
The wolves didn’t reply so Arya stood up and headed in search of her sister. She found Evelyn in a leather outfit and white cotton shirt that gave her more flexibility. She was breathing heavily but not even sweating as she drove the hatchet into each log before throwing them onto the pile. She never stopped her rhythm…. Swing, chop, throw, swing, chop throw….  
“Eve,” Arya called.  
Evelyn looked her way but still didn’t stop her rhythm.  
“What happened?” Arya asked.  
“Everything,” Evelyn replied. “I’ve made a huge mistake….”  
The girl drove her hatchet into the block and slumped down onto a pile of logs, “A huge mistake Arya.”  
Arya approached her sister and wrapped her arms around Evelyn’s shoulders, “What was a mistake? Ser Jaime?”  
Evelyn shook her head, “no…. no, he wasn’t a mistake….”  
This statement surprised Arya but a soft smile appeared on her face. Evelyn had always been the sister that Arya was closest to and even now, with her married life, Arya wasn’t the least bit annoyed or disappointed with Evelyn.  
“Everything will be alright,” the little girl told her, hugging her tightly. “Everything is different and new right now…. But it will be alright.”  
Evelyn nodded against her sister’s shoulder, letting tearless sobs rack her body. The two girls were sitting there a while until two people came tearing around the corner, Zinzi and Lady perking up at their arrival.  
“Myrcella! Tommen!” Arya cried, jumping to her feet. “What is the hurry?”  
Tommen looked like he had dragged Myrcella three miles for they were both panting and red in the face, Myrcella leaning on her brother for support.  
“It’s uncle Jaime,” Tommen explained.  
The two were girls were on their feet in an instant, holding their breath for what Tommen was going to say.  
“He’s awake!” Myrcella managed to squeal.  
Arya grinned as she turned to look at Evelyn. Her older sister had gone deathly pale while her amber eyes were wide in shock. Evelyn handed her double swords to Arya who gladly took them.  
“Don’t stab yourselves…. Zinzi and Lady will stay with you,” Evelyn said, almost absentmindedly. “I’ll be back.”  
With that, the girl ran off without another word. Tommen and Myrcella looked over at Arya to see the young Stark grinning from ear to ear.  
“I’m guessing she’s happy,” Tommen remarked.  
Myrcella and Arya rolled their eyes, “boys! They don’t understand anything!”  
********   
Evelyn blew through the door, slamming it open and planting herself in the doorway. The physician, Tyrion and Tywin were there. Evelyn didn’t even have to ask to know that Cersei hadn’t been there yet. Her strong rose and lemon scent didn’t linger in the room like all the times she came to visit Jaime when he was out.  
All eyes turned to her and Tyrion and the physician smiled. The physician whispered something to Jaime before grabbing his things and quietly departing, patting Evelyn on the shoulder.  
“He needs to rest and not exert himself or the wound will reopen. He needs a week.”  
Evelyn nodded, not taking her eyes off the bed. Tywin approached the girl next, bowing his head to her but showing no sign of happiness or anger at her appearance.  
“Please take care of him.”  
The girl nodded again before Tywin Lannister left the room. Tyrion approached then and Evelyn finally looked down at the Lannister dwarf. Tyrion grinned up at her, knowing she was impatiently waiting.  
“Do not be afraid to tell him things. He is much more open than most. And, I believe he would want to hear some of the things you have been wanting to tell him,” the dwarf remarked before patting her hand and leaving.  
The moment the door swung closed, Evelyn quietly and slowly crossed the room to the bed. The curtain was slightly pulled back to hide Jaime’s face, but she could see the rise and fall of his chest…. He was breathing. His uninjured hand no long laid on his stomach like it had all week but rather by his side.  
The girl took a deep breath, prepared for anything as she pushed the lacy curtain back. Blue met amber as Jaime turned his head to look up at his wife who now stood at his bedside.  
“Evelyn,” he breathed, a soft smile appearing on his face. He didn’t look like he just woke up from a coma. His voice was not tired, and he was seated up slightly against the pillows, his bandaged wrist across his waist, his hair washed and falling about his eyes, his blue eyes shining as if he had just gotten back from a refreshing run.  
Evelyn stared at him, her mouth slightly parted and her amber eyes stinging from the tears that wanted dearly to break through. A part of her wanted to hit him for scaring her half to death and then hugging the life out of him… and another part of her wanted to be careful of his injury…. But was this even real? Was he really awake?  
The girl gingerly reached out and cautiously touched the side of his face. Jaime leant into her touch, smiling at her softly as she ran her fingers slowly through his hair… reassuring herself that this was Jaime…. This was Jaime.  
The door of the room flew open and the two turned to see Cersei standing there. She saw Evelyn who was deathly pale and on the verge of tears…. And she could just make out the face of her twin who was glaring daggers at her, warning her to not test her luck.  
The woman shrugged her shoulders, “Well everything seems fine here. Don’t go and get him hurt again minx.”  
With that, the woman slammed the door shut, causing the two to jump slightly. Evelyn turned back to Jaime who had looked up at her with his signature cocky smirk.  
“I take it you two have gotten along while I’ve been otherwise occupied?”  
Something in Evelyn snapped and the next thing Jaime knew, the girl had jumped on top of him, careful of his wound and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.   
“DON’T YOU SCARE ME AGAIN LIKE THAT JAIME LANNISTER!” The girl yelled into his chest. “Do you know how many times I thought you were going to die, and I never got to tell you anything?”  
“Tell me what?” Jaime asked. “You told me everything you know about me the other day in the aviary remember?”  
Evelyn socked him in the arm for that and Jaime chuckled at her reaction.  
“It was the same with Bran,” she said, lifting her face to show Jaime that tears were streaming down her cheeks, her bottom lip trembling and her face pale. “I was afraid he would never wake up and I would never get the chance to tell him how much I love him.”  
“How is that the same for me….” Jaime asked until his voice faded, and he looked up at the girl, his eyes wide.  
Evelyn bit her lip, “I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how much I love you…. Stupid Jaime Lannister.”  
Jaime was quite sure his mouth was gaping, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Evelyn grasped his head gently but firmly in both hands before crashing her lips against his hard. She had considered kissing him gently, but she didn’t think it would communicate what she was feeling. The fear, the anger, the passion, the love, the adoration and anxiety. All of it.  
The Lannister felt like he had just died and gone to heaven. Evelyn Star…. Evelyn Lannister had just confessed to him and was kissing him! He quickly wound his fingers into her thick black hair, drawing her closer to him as he wrapped his injured arm around her back.  
When they finally parted for air, Jaime pressed his forehead against hers, Evelyn not moving her arms from around his neck.  
“I love you too.”  
HEY! I was fan-girling the whole time I was writing this chapter. I just wanted you to know that the next chapter is going to be a little mature between the two characters:). Unless you feel yourself to be mature, you can read it. if not, wait until chapter 19 comes out:). You have been warned! Adios!


	19. Chapter 18

YO!!!!!! Stop real quick! I wasn’t expecting this chapter to turn out the way it did. I kinda surprised myself for I have never written a mature, smutty chapter before! Anyway, do not read ahead unless you are 17+ or you have seen all of the mature scenes of Game of Thrones. You should be mature enough for this chapter if you have:) You have been warned!!!!!!  
Jaime drew her head back down and kissed her passionately, tangling his fingers with her hair to hold her in place. Evelyn shivered when she felt his tongue press against her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She slowly parted her lips and Jaime plunged into her mouth, tasting all of her. The girl let out a gasp when Jaime pulled her impossibly closer to him, her straddling him on the bed.  
Finally, Evelyn pushed away, panting and slightly flushed, “Jaime…You need to take it easy. The physician said….”  
“I know,” Jaime interrupted. “But I really don’t care.”  
Evelyn opened her mouth to protest when Jaime reached up with his uninjured hand and ran his fingers over her pale shoulders that were just concealed by her white cotton shirt, his fingers lingering on the string that kept it closed over her chest.  
“Why were you wearing this?” He asked, looking at her from beneath his long black lashes.  
Evelyn felt her cheeks heat up when he looked at her like that, “I um…. I was chopping wood…. To let out the stress….”  
Jaime smirked, “If any other man was making eyes at you….”  
“Jaime!” Evelyn scolded; her voice slightly exasperated but nevertheless teasing. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous!”  
The Lannister grinned mischievously before gripping her waist tightly, pulling her down back on top of him, “I just want my wolf to myself.”  
“Your wolf?” Evelyn asked, lifting an eyebrow in amusement. “A lion calls a wolf his?”  
Jaime slowly reached up and gently ran his calloused fingers across her smooth cheek, a soft smile on his face. “Always…. if the wolf wishes to be the lion’s.”  
Evelyn smiled and bending down, planted a soft kiss on his lips, “if the lion agrees to be the wolf’s as well.”  
Jaime grinned, nodding against her head as he pushed himself up a little. Evelyn pushed him back down, but Jaime grabbed her upper arms gently.  
His fingers drifted down to the shoulders of her blouse and slowly began to push the cotton shirt down her shoulders, revealing her neck, pale shoulders and part of her chest to him.  
“Jaime,” Evelyn whispered. “What are you doing? The physician….”  
“I said I don’t really care,” Jaime whispered, planting a soft kiss on the edge of her jaw, “I just want you… you and no one else. I don’t want anyone to touch you the way I do. You’re mine and I am yours. I want everyone to know that.”  
Evelyn quickly hid her face behind her hair to conceal the deep blush that lit up her face. However, she had to look up when she felt Jaime’s hands go around her back to the straps of her leather corset jacket. She was about to stop him, but Jaime sensed it first and sitting up slightly, he latched his lips to the crook of her neck.  
Evelyn gasped softly as his warm lips left a trail of fire down her neck and across his shoulder. She slipped her fingers into his thick blond hair, bringing a growl from Jaime’s throat.  
“If I wasn’t restricted to not moving… would you… let me…. I mean…” the Lannister stuttered. “Would you…become… mine?”  
The girl pushed back so she could look him in the eyes, her hands still tangled in his hair. He was looking at her with big blue, pleading puppy eyes. He had a pleading, earnest and almost desperate look on his face… something Evelyn had never seen on him.  
Smiling adoringly at him, she bent down and planted a warm kiss on his nose, causing the man to smirk. “You’re cute,” she whispered.  
“Cute?” Jaime asked, not expecting that description but he smirked, nonetheless.  
Evelyn nodded, “You’re cute when you’re not cocky.”  
Jaime smiled before the smile faded and he looked at the girl earnestly.  
Evelyn sat back, still straddling him, “If you promise not to move…”  
Jaime’s eyes widened when the girl reached up and finished unstrapping her jacket and throwing it to the side. She untucked her loose cotton shirt and slowly slipped it over her head. She wore a wrap around her chest, but it revealed her pale shoulders that were beginning to tan from the sunlight and her slim stomach.  
Jaime propped himself up on his uninjured hand before reaching with his bandaged one and touched her hair, her cheek, her jaw and began to trail his fingers down her neck to her chest then around her waist.  
Evelyn gently touched his chest to keep him from sitting up straight, “Don’t strain your back.”  
Jaime watched her with slightly wide eyes that were slowly darkening with want as she untied the tie at the collar of his shirt and began to pull it up over his head. The bandages covered his stomach and back, but his chest was bare to her and Evelyn’s face flushed.  
Jaime smirked before taking one of her hands and touching it to his chest, “I’m yours. Don’t ever be afraid of me.”  
The girl lifted her eyes and saw that Jaime’s were full of love and adoration. She trusted him. She trailed her hand across his chest, feeling the fine curve of his chest and then across his rock-hard shoulders and down his arms. When her hands touched his which were still resting on her waist, she slowly pulled them up and placed them on the back of her chest wrap. Jaime took the initiative and began to slowly unwind the wrap while Evelyn undid the buckle of his belt and pulled it off.  
Jaime tossed the wrap to the side, but Evelyn quickly covered herself with her arms. Jaime was about to push himself up to her, but Evelyn pushed him back down, hiding her front against his chest.  
“Why are you embarrassed?” he whispered in her hair. “You’re beautiful.”  
“I…. I just…. I never….” She stuttered.  
Jaime cut her off by lifting her face and kissing her softly, putting as much gentleness into that kiss as possible, “It’s okay. That’s what I love about you.”  
Evelyn looked up at him, her amber eyes quizzical.  
“You’re so innocent and pure. Your beauty radiates it. Your kindness, your heart and your innocence are what make you beautiful,” he whispered against her forehead, planting a kiss there.  
Evelyn slowly sat up before dropping her arms, leaving herself exposed to her husband. Jaime didn’t want to scare her by touching her, so he reached up and placed one hand on her cheek while the other rested on her thick which was still garbed in leggings. The girl reached down and undid the buckle of her belt before slowly slipping her skirt and pants off till she was only in her underwear.  
While she had been doing that, Jaime had managed to wiggle out of his own pants and kicked them off. He would have to go hunting for them under the sheets in the morning, but he didn’t care. Evelyn had slipped her fingers into her underwear and had pulled them off, resuming her position on Jaime’s lap but now she was aware of something hard and twitching underneath her.  
Jaime leant forward to cup her face in his hands, “Are you sure?”  
Evelyn nodded, giving Jaime the go ahead. Carefully Jaime grasped her waist and guided her onto him slowly so as to not hurt her as this was her first time. Jaime was almost halfway in when Evelyn let out a gasp of pain and bit her lip.  
“Should I stop?” Jaime asked, his face going pale with concern.  
The girl shook her head, still biting her lip. She bent down to press her face against his neck, taking a deep breath.  
“Just go slow,” she whispered.  
Jaime nodded before slowly pushing himself in all the way to the hilt. He could feel Evelyn shivering atop him, so he remained still, allowing her to get over the pain. After about two minutes, Evelyn slowly sat back up, her face having regained the color she lost when she felt the pain and now, her eyes were half lidded and darkened and her face flushed.  
Jaime smirked and took that as a good enough answer. Slowly he began to move but Evelyn restricted him from moving too much so as to not reopen his wound, so she began to rock herself. When Evelyn first let out a muffled moan, Jaime felt his face heat up. Why did she have to be so cute?  
Finally, Jaime couldn’t stand it anymore and pushed himself off the pillows. Luckily, Evelyn had her eyes closed and was too distracted to realize he had moved until he wrapped his hands around her back and nestled his face against her chest.  
“Jaime…” the girl gasped.  
“It’s okay,” he whispered, not wanting to lay down again. It felt like he was so far away from her unless he had her in his arms.  
He began to plunge harder, causing the girl to gasp and moan louder but she muffled them in his shoulder. Jaime bent his head down and gripping one of her breasts in one hand, placed a smothering kiss on the other which caused the girl to shiver. He smirked against her skin as he gripped her hips in both hands and plunged in one more time before he reached his climax.  
Evelyn let out a long sigh between her heavy pants before falling against his chest. Jaime slowly laid back down, bringing Evelyn down on top of him and holding her close. Carefully he pulled out of her and pulled the sheet over the both of them.  
Instead of turning her back to him to let him spoon her like she usually did, Evelyn curled up right next to him, both her legs draped over his waist, one of her hands on his chest. Jaime slipped an arm under and around her shoulders, pulling her impossibly closer before turning slightly onto his side, almost shielding the girl with his broad shoulders.   
Thus, they fell asleep into a much needed, dreamless sleep.


	20. Chapter 19

Evelyn fiddled her fingers. They were in trouble. Pretty serious trouble too if it brought the physician, Cersei, Tyrion and Tywin. Jaime was sitting on the bed, his back on the pillows looking perfectly calm and cocky, though partially annoyed that everyone was in the room. Evelyn had been woken out of her slumber by the chamber maid who had come in and had seen that Jaime had bled through the sheet.   
The two had then realized that Jaime’s back wound had reopened but luckily not too bad but still Evelyn called the physician who told Tywin on his way over who summoned Tyrion and Cersei to come and see what their brother had done this time.  
“It’s not too bad,” the physician said. “Just tore about five of the ten stitches. Still, unless you want to permanently have a healing wound, I would advise no activity of any sort for at least five days.”  
Jaime nodded, glad that the inspection was over.  
“What on earth were you doing that tore five stitches?” Cersei insisted, placing her hands on her hips.  
Jaime didn’t answer but looked over at Evelyn who’s face had gone bright red and was shuffling her feet nervously, fiddling her fingers. This brought a cocky smirk onto Jaime’s face, but this seemed to cause a few reactions.  
The physician’s eyes widened before he smiled knowingly. Cersei looked ready to murder Jaime if he didn’t wipe the smirk off his face and Tyrion looked like a pleased hyena, grinning from ear to ear and wiggling his eyebrows at his brother. Tywin had a placid look on his face, but he nodded, and Evelyn had the feeling that he was pleased with this new development.  
“Well,” the physician said, breaking the silence. “No moving for five days.”  
“Thank you doctor,” Evelyn said, breaking out of her embarrassed state.  
As the physician left, Tywin ushered Cersei out, knowing that if he didn’t, she might commit murder on either her brother or her sister in law. Tyrion followed closely but not before shooting the two a smirk. As Tyrion closed the door, he paused when he heard Jaime’s voice on the other side of the door.  
“Well that was amusing.”  
“You got us in trouble!” Evelyn retorted, her footsteps sounding as she walked across the room to the bed.  
“I’m responsible?” Jaime asked. “You’re the one who looked so cute that I couldn’t help myself.”  
Jaime let out a groan and Tyrion knew that Evelyn probably socked him in the arm, “You were the one who didn’t listen and moved!”  
“You have to move in such situations!” Jaime pointed out; sarcasm evident in his voice. “Anyone knows that.”  
“So that makes me not anyone?” Evelyn asked in a teasing tone.  
“No, you’re cute,” Jaime replied.  
Evelyn chuckled until Tyrion could hear her gasp, “Jaime!”  
“Want to try it again?”  
“How thick are you? You heard the doctor!” Evelyn cried.  
Jaime laughed, “We could just avoid telling him.”  
“You’ll bleed to death,” Evelyn replied, her voice calm and straight to the point.  
“Eh,” Jaime whined, “I’ll die of a broken heart in a few days if you stay over there.”  
“It’s for your own protection that I stand over here.”  
“Where will you sleep?” Jaime asked.  
“I’ll sleep standing if I have to!” Evelyn replied.  
“You’re mean,” the man remarked, Tyrion imagining that he was pouting.  
There was silence during which Evelyn walked back across the room and sat down on the bed.  
“Can I hold you?” Jaime asked.  
“Only if you promise that is all you will do,” Evelyn replied in a firm tone.  
There was another silence before Jaime spoke again.  
“Kiss me?”  
“Don’t test your luck Lannister.”  
Jaime’s laugh rang through the door and caused Tyrion to grin. He had never seen his brother this happy before…. Nor of this almost childish boyish attitude. It was refreshing to see. The dwarf turned around, only to see that Cersei had been there the whole time, having not left with Tywin. Her face was black with fury, but Tyrion smirked. No matter what Cersei did, Jaime was Evelyn’s and the woman knew it.  
Tyrion walked down the hallway, completely missing hearing Cersei whisper under her breath.  
“I will make you pay.”  
***********   
Evelyn felt someone shaking her awake. She slowly opened her eyes to see that it was still dark out. It looked like it was still the middle of the night. Turning to her left she saw that Jaime was still asleep. She had positioned herself on the side of the bed closest to the door so that if Jaime tried to sneak out of bed to use the chamber pot, he couldn’t get past her. Evelyn was a light sleeper and had been instructed by the physician to help Jaime use the chamber pot which was his only excuse to get out of bed.  
It had been almost five days and Jaime was losing his nerve but luckily Evelyn stayed with him most of the time. When she wasn’t with him, he was either sleeping, reading or being entertained by Tyrion. Arya had even come over one day to talk with Jaime about sword fighting and Evelyn had come back two hours later to see the two laughing together.  
Jaime didn’t like the idea of Evelyn helping him use the pot and told her that it was embarrassing. However, the girl pointed out that it was much more embarrassing when they got found out by the physician when they reopened his wound, so he had nothing to complain about.   
Rolling to the right, Evelyn saw that Arya was standing at the side of her bed, still in her nightgown and tears in her eyes.  
“Arya?” Evelyn asked, sitting up slowly. “What’s wrong?”  
“I didn’t want to tell Sansa because she would laugh at me…. I had a nightmare.”  
Evelyn smiled. Arya hated telling anyone that she had fears except Evelyn for Evelyn never laughed at her. She had promised Arya to never tell a soul and the girl would often tell Evelyn of her dreams in detail. Evelyn realized that Arya would have nightmares if she was lonely or not tired. Those times were when Arya’s mind would wander before bed and she would fall asleep with sometimes disturbing things or memories on her mind which would wind into nightmares.  
“It’s okay,” a voice said from behind Evelyn.  
The two girls turned to see that Jaime had woken up and was sitting propped up. His wrist had healed so he didn’t have it bandaged but he still had to be easy or it stung.  
He smiled at the little Stark girl before shifting over to make room between him and Evelyn, “Everyone has nightmares.”  
Arya’s eyes widened as she climbed into the bed between the two, leaning her head against Evelyn’s shoulder as the girl wrapped her in a hug.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Evelyn asked.  
“It was the same one as last week,” Arya whispered.  
Evelyn smiled. She remembered that nightmare. It had been of when Nymeria bit Joffrey. Every time Arya relived it, it seemed to get worse.  
“Want to hear a story?”  
“No,” Arya replied. “Can you sing a song instead?”  
Evelyn looked over at Jaime who seemed intrigued by the girl’s request. He had never heard Evelyn sing and it had never dawned on him to ask.  
Sighing, Evelyn began to gently sing a song, rubbing her fingers through Arya’s short hair.  
Don’t give up  
It’s just the weight of the world  
When your heart’s heavy  
I, I will lift it for you

Don’t give up  
Because you want to be heard  
If silence keeps you  
I, I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood  
Well, I can hear you  
Everybody wants to be loved  
Don’t give up because you are loved

Don’t give up  
It’s just the hurt that you hide  
When you’re lost inside  
I, I’ll be there to find you

Don’t give up  
Because you want to burn bright  
If darkness blinds you  
I, I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood  
Well, I can hear you  
Everybody wants to be loved  
Don’t give up because you are loved  
(You are loved)  
You are loved  
(You are loved)

Don’t give up  
(Don’t give up)  
It’s just the weight of the world  
(You are loved)

Don’t give up  
(Don’t give up)  
Everyone needs to be loved  
(Don’t give up)

You are loved  
(You are loved)  
(Don’t give up)  
When Evelyn finished, Arya had calmed down but was still awake while Jaime was staring at her with wide eyes and gaping mouth.  
“You never told me that you could sing like that,” Jaime pointed out, smirking cockily at her.  
Evelyn lowered her eyebrows, “You never asked.”  
“You have nightmares Ser Jaime?” Arya asked, butting into the conversation.  
Jaime nodded, “Recently I haven’t. I think your sister scares nightmares away.”  
Arya grinned, “No, she just absorbs them.”   
“Okay,” Evelyn remarked, getting out of the bed. “I think it’s time for you to go to bed sister.”  
Arya shrugged before crawling to the edge of the bed and climbing onto her sister’s back.  
“Night Ser Jaime,” Arya called.  
“Good night Arya,” Jaime replied, smiling at her.  
Evelyn gave the man a pointed look, telling him not to move before leaving.   
By the time Evelyn got Arya back to her room, the girl was sound asleep, so she had no problem in putting her to bed. Just as she was leaving, she almost collided with her father.  
“Hello father,” the girl chirped. “What are you doing up so late?”  
“I was going to ask the same of you,” Ned remarked, smiling at his daughter.  
“Just getting Arya to bed. She had a nightmare.”  
Ned nodded, “You had better head back to bed.”  
Evelyn smiled, “Jaime had better not have gotten out of bed again.”  
She was about to head off when her father grabbed her hand and pulled her into a quiet corridor.  
“Father, what’s wrong?”  
“Evelyn, I know that you have grown to care about Jaime, but there is something I think you should know.”  
The girl looked up at him quizzically when she noticed the firm, earnest and almost sad look in her father’s eyes.  
“Did you hear about those rumors of Cersei and Jaime being intimate in the past?” Ned asked.  
Evelyn froze. She hadn’t…. but now that he said it, she felt herself almost believing it. She knew from experience that twins could oftentimes grow to love one another. Whether that love was of siblings or if they took it wrong and believed it to be romantic love, twins oftentimes loved each other. She knew that Jaime loved his siblings but so far she had never seen any special love he held for Cersei. Maybe because the rumors were of the past… and that he had grown out of love of her. However, she realized that Cersei had shown some possessive sides to her behavior around Jaime.  
“It turns out it was true,” Ned replied in a whisper. “Cersei confirmed it.”  
“She confirmed it?” Evelyn asked, “To you?”  
“I suspected it for a while,” her father explained. “But I mentioned it to her today… and she confirmed it.”  
“So wait….” Evelyn breathed, trying to keep her mind from exploding, “Does that mean that…. Myrcella… Tommen…. Joffrey…. Aren’t…”  
Ned nodded, “They are not Baratheon’s. They are Lannister’s. Illegitimate.”  
“They’re Cersei…. And Jaime’s.”  
The man looked down at his daughter to see that the girl’s face had paled but she had pursed her lips together firmly and had managed to keep herself calm.  
“Are you mad?” Ned asked, afraid that she would be angry with him for ruining the happiness she shared with Jaime.  
Evelyn shook her head, “No… I just need a few answers.”  
With that, she hugged her father goodnight and headed back to her room. When she arrived, Jaime was still awake but laying down on his back.  
The girl climbed into the bed and got under the covers but remained seated. Jaime sat up slowly and carefully.  
“Arya okay?”  
Evelyn nodded, “She’s asleep.”  
Jaime sensed that something was wrong so he leant forward to look at her face, “What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”  
The girl turned so she was facing Jaime before giving him an earnest, serious look, “Jaime…. I’m not asking this because I believe it or because I don’t believe it…. I’m not afraid to believe or not to believe it but I need an answer.”  
“Alright,” Jaime said, not sure what the girl was going to ask him.  
“Myrcella, Tommen and Joffrey…. They’re not Robert’s children, are they?”  
Jaime stiffened at this and snapped back as if someone had stung him. His eyes widened and his mouth parted in shock. He had been sure that Evelyn hadn’t heard the rumors going around Kings Landing but he guessed that there was no avoiding it. Evelyn was smarter than most. She would have found out on her own eventually.  
Jaime bowed his head, his shoulders slumped, “No they’re not…”  
“They’re yours,” Evelyn added, not a question but a statement.  
Jaime lifted his face, surprised at the softness in Evelyn’s voice. The girl was smiling softly at him though her eyes were sad.  
“You’re not angry?” he asked, stunned.  
The girl shook her head, “No. Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes can be small, or they can be life changing. However, I cannot contradict you for mistakes you have made for I have mistakes of my own.”  
“But none of them are nearly as bad as what I have done,” Jaime said, “Evelyn… you don’t know the half of what I have done.”  
Evelyn titled her head in confusion, “What do you mean?”  
Jaime shook his head before looking back at the girl, tears appearing in his eyes. The look in his eyes was enough to tell Evelyn what she feared most.  
“Bran… he saw you, didn’t he?”  
Jaime bowed his head again but managed a weak nod. Evelyn sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, “Was it you or Cersei…. Who pushed him?”  
Jaime looked at her and shook his head, “Cersei tried to push him…. I was going to stop her, but I made her trip and she pushed him out…. If I hadn’t moved, he might have not fallen. It was my fault.”  
Jaime ran his hands through his hair before laying down and turning around with his back to her, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for lying to you…. For everything.”  
There was a long silence during which Jaime wondered if Evelyn had gone to sleep or had left. However, he was answered as Evelyn slipped her arms around him from behind and touched his face with her hand, placing her cheek against his back and holding him close.  
“I forgive you. I know you are sorry about it.”  
“How can you not be angry with me after all I have done?” Jaime whispered, on the verge of tears.  
“Because my love for you is more than the anger or pain I feel.” The girl whispered before the two drifted off to sleep, entangled together.  
HEY THERE!!!!! Next chapter will be the last one of part 1 then we will be moving on to part 2 aka season 2!!!!!!!! Time has flown, I cannot believe we’re almost done with part one! I’ve managed to stay inside the 20 chapter per part range perfectly!!!! Enjoy!!!!!


	21. Chapter 20

Evelyn was snapped out of a perfectly peaceful sleep by Sansa bursting through the door. Evelyn sat up startled and realized that Arya had slipped into bed again and was lying next to her…. but Jaime wasn’t there. It had been over a week since he had been given the okay to ‘move’ but this was the first morning he had left before saying good morning to Evelyn.  
“Ugh,” The girl groaned, “What’s wrong Sansa?”  
“I cannot find father anywhere!” Sansa cried. “And Littlefinger is acting really weird.”  
Evelyn frowned. She didn’t like Littlefinger. He was a little too shifty for her liking. Arya was awake now and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
“I’m sure he’s probably talking to Jof…. King Joffrey,” Evelyn replied, hating the sound of Joffrey’s title coming off her tongue. Even though he was her husband’s son, Joffrey was a brat.  
“Come on,” Evelyn said, climbing out of bed and wrapping in her cloak, pulling Arya to her feet. “Let’s go look for him.”   
The three girls were halfway down the hallway when the Hound and five other guards approached them, blocking their departure.  
“What is going on?” Evelyn asked, planting herself between the men and her sisters.  
“Lord Tyrion has been captured by Lady Catelyn,” the Hound explained.  
“Tyrion!?” the three girls cried, shocked.  
Evelyn suddenly felt her heart drop. Jaime! Did Jaime know? He would be infuriated!  
“Where is our father?” Arya demanded, asking the obvious.  
The Hound frowned, “He staged a coup against the king. He has been arrested.”  
Sansa let out a high-pitched cry while Arya gasped. Evelyn quickly wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and drew them close.  
She shot the Hound a harsh look, warning him to answer her or she would be angry, “Where is Jaime?”  
“The Kingslayer has disappeared.”  
******   
“I am Eddard Stark, lord of Winterfell and Hand of the king.” Ned announced, not wavering once. “I come before you to confess my treason.”  
“no,” Evelyn breathed from where she stood in the crowd, Baelor’s hand on her shoulder. “Don’t say it…. Joffrey will not pardon you.”  
“Quiet,” Baelor whispered. “Do you want to die with him?”  
“In the sights of gods and men,” Ned continued. “I betrayed the faith of my king and the trust of my friend Robert. I sword to defend and protect his children but before his blood was cold, I plotted to murder his son.”  
‘You’re not in the wrong father,’ Evelyn thought, ‘Joffrey isn’t his son! You kept your promise! Robert has no children for you to protect!’  
“And seize the throne for myself,” Ned added, earning yells from the crowd. “Let the high Septon and Baelor the Blessed witness to what I say. Joffrey Baratheon is the one true heir to the Iron Throne. By the grace of all the gods, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.”  
The Septon then began to speak, “As we sin, so do we suffer. This man has confessed his crimes in the sight of gods and men. The gods are just, but beloved Baelor taught us they can also be merciful. What is to be done with this traitor your grace?”  
Evelyn shook her head, “Don’t ask Joffrey, he will kill him!”  
Baelor was the only one who heard this whisper but he gripped her shoulder to tell her to be quiet.  
“My mother wishes me to have this man join the Night’s Watch,” Joffrey announced. “Stripped of all titles and lands, he would serve the realm in permanent exile. And Lady Sansa has begged for mercy for her father. But they have the soft hearts of women. So long as I am king, treason will never go unpunished.”  
‘You little snake,’ Evelyn breathed. ‘You do not have the heart of a man but the heart of stone!’  
“Sir Ilyn,” Joffrey yelled, “bring me his head!”  
Everything else was a blur as Baelor held the girl to his chest, trying to block her view of what was happening. Suddenly Evelyn heard a voice behind her and turned to see Arya pushing through the crowd. Evelyn pushed away from Baelor and snatched up her sister who tried to fight against her but Evelyn held her close. Baelor grabbed both of them and held them to his chest, turning his back to the sight.  
The girl buried her face in his chest to hide the horrifying sight…. But she heard the screams of her sister…. The sound of sword meeting flesh…. And a body striking the ground. Sansa.  
“No…. father….” Evelyn cried.  
“Quiet child,” Baelor commanded. “You’ll get in trouble if you don’t stay quiet.”  
“Father….” Evelyn sobbed, tears stinging her eyes. “Jaime… where are you?”  
“JAIME!” Evelyn screamed, snapping out of her sleep.  
She slept in again? She never slept in but she had been sleeping in almost past lunch the past few days.   
“Jaime?” the girl asked, turning to see that Jaime was not in bed and his sword was gone. Jumping out of bed, she grabbed her cloak and pulled it on as she hurried out the door. She felt off. Something wasn’t right. the hallways were so quiet like everyone was either asleep or was somewhere.  
She quickened her pace when she heard the sound of a crowd nearby. She rounded the corner in haste and smacked right into Jaime.   
“Evelyn!” He whispered hoarsely, either shocked or horrified to see her. “You need to stay inside.”  
“Jaime, what is going on?” Evelyn asked, noticing the paleness and urgency in his face.  
Instead of answering, the man wrapped the girl into a bone crushing hug, clutching her head to his chest.   
“Do you trust me?” he asked into her hair.  
Evelyn didn’t like how this felt like he was saying goodbye, but she nodded all the same. Jaime released her and smiling down at her, crashing his lips to hers. The girl was startled at the energy, desperation and passion the kiss held and it made her heart ache. Something was wrong. That was why he was acting this way.  
Jaime released her and traced her face with his fingers as if etching it into his memory before kissing her gently one more time.  
“Stay here,” he told her. “Do not go outside.”  
Evelyn wanted to object but Jaime had already disappeared down the hallway before she could. Evelyn heard a woman’s scream out the window that sounded a little too much like Sansa. Rushing to the nearest window, Evelyn looked out and felt her heart stop. It was the same as her dream. She saw Sansa screaming and pleading with Joffrey who completely ignored her. Cersei was standing there shocked while the people were yelling as the executioner raised the sword above the head of her father!   
Evelyn saw her father lift his eyes and lock with hers.  
“Evelyn,” he had once told her long ago. “Things will happen that you cannot avoid but that doesn’t mean dwell on them. It is merely an invitation to make sure it never happens again.”  
Evelyn saw a comforting smile light up her father’s face before she looked away at the sound of sword meeting flesh. Her father…. He was dead! Just like in her dream!  
But if that were true…. Was Tyrion also a prisoner of her mother and brother? And Jaime…. that’s why he was saying goodbye! He was going after Tyrion!  
“Lady Evelyn,” a voice said from behind her.  
Evelyn turned to see the Hound there.  
“Arya,” she breathed, “Where is Arya?”  
The man shook his head, “We cannot find her.”  
Evelyn felt her heart fall. Arya. She would be safer out of Kings Landing but who knows how she got out and what would happen to her in the wilderness!  
“Father,” the girl croaked, feeling her legs buckle. The Hound lifted the petite girl into his arms and began to carry her back to her room.  
“Arya,” the girl muttered into his chest. “Tyrion…. Father…. Jaime….”  
“It will be alright my lady,” the Hound assured her, not sure how to make the girl feel better.  
Evelyn shook her head, “My father said that winter is coming. Why did the fire come first?”  
And with that, she drifted off into a restless sleep full of wolves, lions, swords, screams, fire and ice.

**Author's Note:**

> YAY!!!!! Part one is done!!!! Sorry for the sad ending but that’s kinda how the first season ended too:) I will be taking a momentary break (a few days. A week at most) to transfer this part over to Wattpad, Archive of our own, Fanfiction.net and Tumblr. Also, I’m going to try and write a few chapters for my other stories which I have neglected because I’ve been enjoying writing this story so much!!!!!!! I hope you liked the first part!!!!!! Part 2: The Lone Wolf, will come up once I finish writing it in Quotev. If you want to read it as I write, you can find it on Quotev under the writer: FairyofHogwarts:)


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